Editing Arcadia

{{Status|Canon}}

|system=[[Procyon system]]{{Ref/Book|Id=vis|EVG|Page=12}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P50|Enc22|Page=50}}

|body=[[Procyon]]{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P50}}

|position=Fourth planet{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|moon(s)=Two; [[Gihon]], [[Pishon]]{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|diameter={{Convert|13019|km|mi|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|gravity=1.02 G{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|atmosphere=1.3 ([[Wikipedia:Nitrogen|N₂]], [[Oxygen|O₂]]){{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|temperature=3°C to 37°C (37°F to 98.6°F){{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|demonym=Arcadian{{Ref/Book|AoBW|Page=166}}

|species=[[Human]]s {{c|formerly}}{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|population=2,998,230 {{c|formerly}}{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

|colonized=[[2429]]{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P50}}

|government=[[Unified Earth Government]] {{C|formerly}}{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

{{Quote|Arcadia colony, to be precise. Population a little under three million, largely unexplored, but apparently quite the vacation resort.|[[Serina]]{{Ref/Level|Id=arcadia city|HW|[[Arcadia City]]}}}}

'''Arcadia''' is the fourth [[planet]] in the [[Procyon system]], orbited by two [[natural satellite]]s—[[Gihon]] and [[Pishon]]. Colonized in [[2429]],{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} Arcadia was a [[human]] [[Outer Colony|Outer]] [[Human colonies|Colony]] of the [[Unified Earth Government]], home to a population of nearly three million.{{Ref/Reuse|arcadia city}} A thriving colony,{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} Arcadia was a popular tourist destination, famed for its lush jungles and forests.{{Ref/Site|Id=waypoint|URL=http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/theuniverse/locations/gallery/arcadia/3c9e9ac6-f13f-4712-ae1b-24d9c0e5504b|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Arcadia|D=8|M=10|Y=2011}}

On [[2531#February|February 9, 2531]], Arcadia was [[Battle for Arcadia|attacked]] by the [[Covenant]], leading to a brief, yet brutal, battle between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and the Covenant.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} Although [[Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] successfully fought off the Covenant forces, Arcadia's major [[city|population center]]s were destroyed and the Arcadians abandoned their home. However, over the following years, many Arcadians slowly returned to their homeworld and began rebuilding their colony.<ref name="journal">''[[Halo: Reach]]'', ''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref>  

 

On [[2549#September|September 9, 2549]], the Covenant [[Second Fall of Arcadia|returned]] to Arcadia and finally [[Glassing|glassed]] the planet, eradicating nearly its entire population.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}

 

==Overview==

 

Arcadia's landmasses were divided into six designated continents: [[Eire]], [[Pacifica]], [[Mu]], [[Caledonia]], [[Lemuria]], and [[Avalon]]. Even before [[human]]s colonized the planet, Arcadia already maintained environments and natural resources suitable for human habitation, requiring no aggressive [[terraforming]] measures.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} Arcadia's surface was largely unexplored beyond the colony's limited settlements and tourist zones, preventing the discovery of the [[Forerunner]] [[Arcadia Forerunner ruins|ruins]] on the planet for a long period of time.{{Ref/Reuse|enc298}}

 

 

 

 

 

===Ancient history===

Arcadia was once a heavily populated [[Forerunner]] colony, one of the many worlds within the vast [[ecumene]]. Following the activation of the [[Halo Array]], the remnants of the Forerunners' presence on the planet were destroyed by erosion or buried deep beneath Arcadia's surface.{{Ref/Book|Id=enc298|Enc11|Page=298}} One of the Forerunner sites on the planet was a [[Arcadia Forerunner ruins|building complex]] located within the jungles of the planet.{{Ref/Level|Id=scarab|HW|[[Scarab (level)|Scarab]]}}

===Rise of humanity===

Arcadia was colonized by the [[Unified Earth Government]] in [[2429]], where the planet was established as an [[Outer Colony]].{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P50}} The colony did not require any aggressive [[terraforming]] measures to be suitable for [[human]] habitation, as the planet had a plentiful supply of resources needed to support human settlement.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} Several {{Class|Phoenix|colony ship}}s were involved with the initial colonization of Arcadia, supporting the establishment of the metropolitan capital of [[Pirth City]].{{Ref/Film|HLeg|Detail=''[[Origins]]''}}

The planet quickly became exploited for agricultural and recreational reasons, becoming both a farming world and a tourist destination.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} Arcadia's surface was barely explored by its human colonists, though the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] was aware of the Forerunner ruins hidden among the planet's dense jungles.<ref>''[[Data Drop|Data Drop #4]]''</ref> On [[2498#January|January 16, 2498]], Arcadians opened the [[Deep Space Research Array]] in the planet's orbit, with the intent to research and study extremely high-gravity events.{{Ref/Game|Id=timeline|HW|Detail=''[[Halo Wars Timeline Events|Timeline Events]]''}}

Despite a largely peaceful history,{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} Arcadia became a brief site of conflict during the [[Insurrection]] in the mid-2520s, when [[Insurrectionist|insurgent]] activity arose in the jungles of the planet. In response, elements of the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s [[10th Shock Troops Battalion]] were deployed to Arcadia, where the [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] quelled the rebel movement before redeploying to [[Andesia]].{{Ref/Film|Id=p2|FuD|Detail=''Part 2''}}<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/cadmon-lasky ''Halo Waypoint'': ''Cadmon Lasky'']</ref> Around this time, Pirth City became a hotspot for [[refugee]]s fleeing insurrectionist activity on [[Eridanus II]].<ref>''[[Hunt the Truth]]''</ref>

Towards the end of the [[Harvest campaign]] during the [[Human-Covenant War]], the [[Covenant]]'s [[Fleet of Glorious Interdiction]] discovered [[Relic (location)|Forerunner ruins]] on [[Harvest]] containing coordinates to Arcadia. Led by [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]], the [[fleet]] arrived at Arcadia on [[2531#February|February 9, 2531]], pursued closely by {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} of the [[Third Fleet]]. Two {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}s of the Covenant fleet quickly [[Battle for Arcadia|engaged]] the four [[warship]]s of the Arcadian defense fleet. While one battlecruiser was destroyed, two of the UNSC ships were lost and the other two were heavily damaged. By the time ''Spirit of Fire'' arrived in the system, the remaining battlecruiser had begun deploying ground forces to Arcadia's surface.{{Ref/Reuse|arcadia city}}

While Pirth was heavily assaulted by Covenant forces, the [[Arcadian Patrol]] and [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II]] [[Red Team]] attempted to evacuate the city, with their efforts supported by forces deployed by ''Spirit of Fire''.{{Ref/Reuse|arcadia city}} As the battle spread across Arcadia's surface, the rest of the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction arrived over the planet.{{Ref/Comic|HE|Detail=''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 5|Issue 5]]''}} However, [[Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] and the rest of the Third Fleet arrived at Arcadia and engaged the Covenant fleet.{{Ref/Reuse|journal}} Towards the end of the battle, Covenant forces located their target—the Forerunner ruins deep within the Arcadian jungles.{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} After a protracted engagement at the ruins, 'Moramee traveled to the planet's surface and captured [[Ellen Anders]], requiring her to further his plans at [[Trove]]. While 'Moramee left the system, he was pursued by ''Spirit of Fire''.{{Ref/Reuse|scarab}} Meanwhile, the Third Fleet succeeded in destroying the majority of the Covenant fleet and the remaining forces retreated from the system.{{Ref/Reuse|journal}}

Following the Battle for Arcadia, the planet's major population centers were destroyed and the surviving Arcadians fled their ruined homeworld. However, over the following years, many Arcadians slowly began returning to their world and rebuilding. While flora had overgrown most of their cities, the Arcadians resettled in [[Abaskun]] on [[Mu]], a mostly lawless community that provided much needed food supplies to the UNSC and the [[Inner Colonies]].{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}}{{Ref/Reuse|timeline}} However, on [[2549#September|September 9, 2549]], a massive Covenant fleet [[Second Fall of Arcadia|returned]] to Arcadia and [[Glassing|glassed]] the planet. The Arcadians attempted to flee aboard hundreds of transports, although only a handful successfully escaped.{{Ref/Reuse|journal}} The surviving Arcadians eventually relocated to the UEG refugee camps in the southern dunes of [[Terra Cimmeria]] on [[Mars]].{{Ref/Anthology|Id=Oasis|HFra|Oasis}}{{Ref/Novel|Env|Page=73}} One of the few locations spared from being glassed was the Forerunner ruins on the planet.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Hippo|Halo: Hippocratica}}

===Post-war===

Following the Covenant War, Arcadia became the site of multiple salvage operations undertaken by [[Kig-Yar]]. The United Nations Space Command, in response, launched [[Operation: EASTERN AZURE]], which not only involved the surveillance of these activities but also the mapping of new potential slipspace routes to and from the planet; [[SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan]] [[Jameson Locke]] participated in this operation.{{Ref/Game|Id=H5GLtd|Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers#Jameson Locke|Dossier files]] - Jameson Locke}}

In [[2557#January|January 2557]], the [[salvaging]] ship ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' passed by the glassed Arcadia on her way to the neighboring planet of [[Laconia]], searching for the ''[[Radiant Perception]]'' which had crash landed on Laconia following the Battle for Arcadia years earlier.{{Ref/Novel|Id=sas71|SaS|Page=71-72}} After retrieving a [[log buoy]] from the ''Radiant Perception'', the crew of ''Ace of Spades'' briefly hid from pursuing forces of [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant remnant]] on the dark side of Arcadia.{{Ref/Novel|SaS|Page=106}}

In [[2560]], [[Adam Andrews]], who had been saved from the Covenant by [[John Forge]] and Marines from the ''Spirit of Fire'' during the [[Battle for Arcadia]], met with [[Kig-Yar]] salvagers working for [[Nor Fel]] at the Forerunner ruins and traded the {{Pattern|R'awuw|Scarab}}'s [[focus cannon]] for [[rumbledrug]]s. The salvagers were then ambushed and killed by [[Team Omega]] who secured the focus cannon and framed it so that the salvagers were waylaid after they had departed from Arcadia.{{Ref/Reuse|Hippo}}

Arcadia was an [[Outer Colony]] administrated by the [[Unified Earth Government]]. The colony was divided into forty-two{{Ref/Tabletop|Id=risk|Risk|Halo Wars Risk}} provincial regions, the largest of which was the metropolitan capital of [[Pirth City]],{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} located on the continent of [[Eire]].{{Ref/Reuse|risk}} Other major cities on Arcadia included [[Abaskun]], [[Arcadia City (location)|Arcadia City]], [[Daylam]], and [[Saqsin]].{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} The [[Arcadian Patrol]] served as the colony's [[Law enforcement|police force]].{{Ref/Reuse|arcadia city}} The [[United Nations Space Command]] maintained [[Fort Deen (location)|Fort Deen]] on the colony,{{Ref/Map|HW|[[Fort Deen]]}} while the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] also had their own [[Arcadia ONI facility|facility]] in the jungles of Arcadia.{{Ref/Level|HW|[[Dome of Light]]}} In early [[2531]], the colony had a population of 2,998,230.{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

After the [[Covenant]]'s [[Battle for Arcadia|attack]], most Arcadians abandoned their homeworld, though many returned over the following years.{{Ref/Reuse|journal}} [[Abaskun]] would be resettled as a farming community{{Ref/Reuse|timeline}} and habitation would continue in Arcadia City.{{Ref/Reuse|gaines}} Although Abaskun was regarded as lawless{{Ref/Reuse|timeline}} and anachronistic,{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} [[Arcadia City (location)|Arcadia City]] maintained a colonial government.{{Ref/Site|Id=gaines|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/jordan-gaines|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Jordan Gaines}}

==Society==

Like many Outer Colonies, Arcadia was exploited for its natural resources, and for recreational purposes, becoming a popular tourist destination.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} Described as a "tourist paradise", Arcadia became famed for its safaris and other recreational amenities, with cruise ships in constant transit between the colony and [[Earth]].{{Ref/Reuse|enc298}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=ch127|CH|Page=127}} Due to the planet's fertile environment, the colony soon had a large agricultural industry, providing foodstuffs to other [[Human colonies|colonies]] of the Unified Earth Government.

Even after the Covenant had first attacked the planet, the remaining Arcadians at Abaskun continued to plant and grow crops for the [[Inner Colonies]], clinging to their trade{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} and providing the United Nations Space Command with much-needed food supplies.{{Ref/Reuse|timeline}}

Arcadia's high-speed rail ran on a planetary tram network.{{Ref/Level|HW|Arcadia City|Detail=Tram System Station - Console description|Quote=A planetary network of high-speed rails, the Arcadian tram system was heavily damaged in the initial Covenant assault. Intact tram stations are serving as temporary shelters for evacuating refugees.}} Arcadia was also home to three [[space elevator]]s,{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} as well as an orbital refinery complex that was destroyed during the Covenant's first attack on the colony.{{Ref/Reuse|journal}} [[Lethbridge Industrial]] also maintained facilities on Arcadia, one of which held design files for the corporation's own variant of the [[HRUNTING Mark III (B) Cyclops]].{{Ref/Game|HW2|Detail=''[[Phoenix Log]]: Cyclops''}} Among other exports, the planet was known for [[List of food and drinks|Procyon champagne]], a luxurious vintage favored by [[Robert Watts]].{{Ref/Novel|TFoR|Page=104 (2010)}}

===Culture===

The Arcadians were regarded as a peaceful and thriving people.{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} The colony's inhabitants had only explored a relatively small portion of the planet; the creation of the [[Deep Space Research Array]] in Arcadia's orbit led some to point out the irony that the Arcadians knew more about the galaxy than about the dense forests and jungles of their own planet. The population appeared to be loyal to the [[Unified Earth Government]], providing the [[Inner Colonies]] with much-needed foodstuff even after their civilization had fallen into a bizarre state of anarchy and lawlessness, following the [[Covenant]]'s [[Battle for Arcadia|first attack]] on Arcadia.{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} The Arcadians had their own style of fashion, unique to their world.{{Ref/Book|Id=evg8|EVG|Page=8}}

==Production notes==

Arcadia was first mentioned in ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', written by [[Joseph Staten]] in [[2007 (real world)|2007]]. The colony later appeared in ''[[Halo Wars]]'' as a setting for four [[campaign]] levels in the game. The original idea for Arcadia was pitched to Staten by Graeme Devine, the lead designer of ''Halo Wars''. Staten liked the idea so much that he mentioned it in his novel ''Contact Harvest''.<ref>[http://kotaku.com/5043879/halo-wars-playable-but-not-here ''Kotaku'': ''Halo Wars Playable, But Not Here'']</ref> Arcadia is also the setting for the ''[[RISK: Halo Wars Collector's Edition]]'' board game.{{Ref/Reuse|risk}}

In the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]'', Arcadia is erroneously referred to as an [[Inner Colonies|Inner Colony]].{{Ref/Reuse|enc298}} ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'' also uses an image of [[Harvest]] to depict Arcadia.{{Ref/Reuse|vis}}

**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers]]'' {{Mo}}