Editing Battle of Installation 03

|next=[[Skirmish in New Phoenix]]

|side2=*[[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]] <br>

*[[Ur-Didact|Didact's]] [[Prometheans#Mechanical Prometheans|Prometheans]]

*One stolen {{Pattern|Zurdo|Wraith}}

*4+ {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}s{{Ref/Reuse|opc}}

*{{Pattern|Mamua'uda|Shade}}s

*{{Pattern|Karo'etba|Ghost}}s

*{{Pattern|Kewu Umppi'pa'|citadel turret}}s

The '''Battle of Installation 03''' was a brief engagement on [[Forerunner]] [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 03]] in the [[Khaphrae system]]. Occurring in late [[2557#July|July of 2557]], the battle was fought between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|new Covenant]] and the latter's [[Promethean]] allies.{{Ref/Reuse|opb}}

At some point, the [[Covenant]] recovered the [[Forerunner]] [[Conduit]],<ref>''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'', ''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal 7]]''</ref> a device that was capable of opening Forerunner [[slipspace portal]]s throughout the [[Milky Way|galaxy]].{{Ref/Reuse|opc}} During the [[Battle of Mombasa]] on [[Earth]] in [[2552]], the Covenant attempted to use the Conduit during the battle. However, the device was [[Operation: WINDOW PANE|stolen]] by [[Alpha-Five|a squad]] of the [[UNSC]]'s [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]]. The squad tried to escape the city to safely deliver the Conduit into UNSC hands, but the device was lost when the [[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret]]'s {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} ''[[Solemn Penance]]'' entered [[slipstream space]] over [[New Mombasa]]. The resulting slipstream wake killed the ODST squad and destroyed the city, seemingly along with the Conduit.{{Ref/Reuse|opa}} However, the Conduit transported itself to [[Installation 03]] in the [[Khaphrae system]] by entering slipspace to save itself from destruction.{{Ref/Reuse|opc}}

Concurrent with this skirmish in New Mombasa, [[unidentified ODST squad|a second]] ODST squad recovered a series of [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyphs]] which were finally deciphered nearly five years after the battle, pointing to a location on Gamma Halo that contained an [[unidentified Forerunner machine]].<ref name="ope">'''[[Halo: Spartan Strike]]''', ''[[Operation E: Brother's Keeper]]''</ref>

In [[2557#July|July of 2557]], UNSC personnel on [[Ivanoff Station]] detected a faint signal originating on Gamma Halo. The signal was soon discovered to be emanating from the Conduit,{{Ref/Reuse|opb}} and a [[Spartan-IV]] [[Headhunters|Headhunter]]{{Ref/Reuse|canonfodder}} was sent to the installation to investigate—aided by Lieutenant [[Kwon]].{{Ref/Reuse|opb}} However, [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|reformed Covenant]] had continued to search for the Conduit after its supposed destruction at New Mombasa in 2552. The Covenant faction succeeded in picking up the signal moments before the UNSC did, and a [[fleet]] traveled to Installation 03 to recover the Conduit.{{Ref/Reuse|opc}}

When Jul 'Mdama's Covenant succeeded in recovering the Conduit, they sought to bring the device to the [[Altar]] on Installation 03. There, the Covenant intended to use the Conduit to open slipspace portals for Prometheans to invade Gamma Halo and give themselves control over the installation.{{Ref/Reuse|opc}} To prevent the UNSC from finding the Conduit's exact location, the Covenant jammed the device's signal frequency. The Spartan was deployed to a jungle on Gamma Halo via [[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|HEV]], where he battled his way through Covenant forces and destroyed the five signal jammers.<ref>'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 7: Gamma Halo|Gamma Halo]]''</ref> Afterwards, the Spartan wiped out Covenant forces in the area to allow the UNSC to deploy three signal beacons that boosted the signal transmitted from the Conduit. The Conduit's signal was soon traced to a nearby Forerunner structure, though its entrance was blocked by a Promethean-designed gate.<ref>'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 8: Signal Fires|Signal Fires]]''</ref> A squad of [[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marines]] captured a Covenant [[Zurdo-pattern Wraith|Wraith]], and the Spartan was directed to their position.<ref>'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', campaign level ''[[Mission 9: Lockout|Lockout]]''</ref>

After returning to Ivanoff Station in a Pelican dropship with the Conduit, the Spartan received an emergency distress call from an [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] [[New Phoenix ONI facility|facility]] back on Earth. The researchers at the facility were studying a [[unidentified Forerunner machine|Forerunner artifact]] at the time of the battle. When the Covenant used the Conduit at the Altar, Forerunner portals were activated throughout the galaxy. One of the portals opened up in the ONI facility in New Phoenix, and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and Promethean forces attacked the base. It was determined that the only way to close the portals was to bring the Conduit to New Phoenix. The Spartan traveled to the city with the Conduit, as the [[Skirmish in New Phoenix]] begun.<ref name="opd">'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', ''[[Operation D: Adamantine Shield]]''</ref>

In 2557, the Battle of Installation 03 became part of a [[UNSC Tactical Simulator|tactical simulator]] to enhance strategic skills of the Spartan-IVs aboard the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.{{Ref/Reuse|opb}}