Editing Dawn

{{Status|Gameplay}}

{{Level infobox

|pagegamelabel=H4

|prev=''[[Prologue]]''

|next=''[[Requiem (level)|Requiem]]''

|name='''''Dawn'''''

|image=[[File:H4 Dawn Loadscreen.png|350px]]

|player=[[Master_Chief_(gameplay)#Halo_4|Master Chief]]

|date=[[2557|July 21, 2557]]

|place=Onboard {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}}, orbiting [[Requiem]]

|objective=Find and eliminate boarders.

Completing the level on any difficulty unlocks the "[[Dawn (achievement)|Dawn]]" achievement, worth 10 Gamerscore points, while accessing John's service record during the level grants the player "[[Digging up the Past]]", worth 20 Gamerscore points.

In ''[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]'', "Dawn" and "Digging up the Past" , unlockable with the same criteria, are each now worth 10 Gamerscore points. "[[Piece of Cake]]" and "[[Gunslinger]]", each worth 10 Gamerscore points, require beating the level's 15 minute par time and 25,000 point par score, respectively.

[[File:H4fudback.jpg|thumb|300px|The ''Forward Unto Dawn''{{'}}s remains.]]

''A field of debris surrounds the rear half of the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}}.''

* '''Cortana (PA)''': ''(looping)'' "Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 ''Forward Unto Dawn'', requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code: Victor Zero Five dash Three dash [[John-117|Sierra Zero One One Seven]]."  

[[File:H4 Chief in cryochamber.png|thumb|300px|John-117, moments before his revival.]]

''Muffled explosions can be heard, signaling multiple decompression events - the ship is being boarded. Increasingly agitated, Cortana brings up the cryo chamber's control interface. A schematic of a modified [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|Mark VI MJOLNIR armor]] is displayed, alongside life signs and cryo-tube diagrams. A single prompt appears on-screen.''

[[File:H4 Chief thaw.jpg|thumb|300px|Cortana awakening the Master Chief.]]

* '''Cortana''': "Wake up, Chief."

* '''Cortana''': "I need you."  

* '''Cortana''': "Chief! Easy. You've been out for a while."

* '''John-117''': "Where are we?"

* '''Cortana''': "We're still adrift on the ''Dawn''."

* '''John-117''': "Why did you wake me?"

* '''Cortana''': "Hang on. Bringing your systems online now."

* '''Cortana''': "I rewrote your suit's firmware while you were out."

* '''John-117''': "You've been busy."

* '''Cortana''': "Activating the ship's gravity generators."

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Partial system restoration. Initializing system diagnostics...'''''

* '''Cortana''': "Chief, look up. You need to pull the manual release."

* '''Cortana''': "Seems like [[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|old times]]."

* '''John-117''': "Ready to get back to work?"

* '''Cortana''': "I thought you'd never ask."

[[File:Chief Cortana.jpg|thumb|300px|John-117 and Cortana prepare to leave the cryo bay.]]

''John pulls Cortana out of the holo-tank and inserts her into his neural interface. John raises his [[MA5D assault rifle]], readying for combat.''

* '''Cortana''': "We've got intrusion alerts lighting up on multiple decks. Our best bet to figure out who's boarding us is the observation deck - four floors up."

* '''John-117''': "Could it be a rescue team?"

* '''Cortana''': "I wouldn't bet on it!"

''Below the walkway leading out of the cryo chamber, a single computer terminal containing John-117's service record can be found. The terminal displays a picture of technicians assembling the Chief's [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V|MJOLNIR Mark V]] armor.''

* '''System''': ''This is the service record for SPARTAN John-117. Would you like to continue?''

* '''System''': ''Frigate'' {{Sic|Cruiser}} [[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn]] ''discovers [[Forerunner]] [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 04]], and deploys SPARTAN-117 to protect UNSC AI Cortana. Chief uncovers a plot to fire the weapon, and sacrifices the ''Autumn'' to destroy the Halo ring. Pursuing the [[Solemn Penance|Covenant flagship]] after [[Battle of Earth|an attack on Earth]], SPARTAN-117 arrives at Halo [[Installation 05]] to find the Covenant [[Great Schism|erupting into civil war]]. After preventing the Covenant from firing the ring, 117 followed them back to Earth in search of a Forerunner installation that can activate all the galaxy's Halos. The Covenant arrive at Earth, and open a [[The Portal|portal]] to [[Installation 00|the Ark]], an extragalactic Forerunner installation that can fire the Halo array. SPARTAN-117 unites a joint [[Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili]]/[[UNSC]] team to pursue the [[Covenant]] to the Ark, where he successfully destroys the Installation and prevents the rings from being used. When SPARTAN-117 attempts to escape from the Ark aboard the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}} the slipspace portal that the ship is passing through collapses. Aboard the aft section of the Dawn, SPARTAN-117 is placed into cryo-sleep pending recovery by UNSC forces. AI Cortana to remain active [[rampancy|as long as is technically feasible]]. End of service record.''

''The next room contains a holo-projector, displaying a schematic of the ''Dawn''{{'}}s stern half.''  

* '''System (PA)''': ''(looping)'' '''''Intrusion alert. Intrusion alert.'''''

* '''System''': ''[[M4093 Hyperion nuclear delivery system|Weapons systems - online]]. Gravity controls - online. Ship propulsion - offline. Bow hull integrity - compromised. Life support - online.''

* '''John-117''': "How long was I out?"

* '''Cortana''': "Four years, seven months, ten days."

* '''John-117''': "Somebody should have found us by now."

[[File:H4-Dawn-OperationsRoom.jpg|thumb|300px|The ''Dawn''{{'}}s operations room.]]

* '''John-117''': "What's that?"

* '''Cortana''': "Sensor scan, high intensity! Doesn't match any known patterns!"

* '''John-117''': "How close are we to the observation deck?"

* '''Cortana''': "It's directly above us."

* '''Cortana''': "The elevator doors look sealed tight."

* '''Cortana''': "Chief, be careful...!"

* '''Cortana''': "Because some areas might have lost pressure!"

* '''John-117''': "Right."

* '''Cortana''': "Chief, watch out!"

''Debris fall from above. The Chief quickly jumps to another ledge to the left, managing to avoid the falling fragments. (If the debris is not avoided, it hits Chief, drains his shields, and sends him back down to where he started that section of the climb.)''

* '''Cortana''': "I didn't realize the ship had deteriorated so badly."

''John manages to climb to the entrance for the observation deck, avoiding more falling debris. A [[Sangheili]] [[Sangheili Storm|Storm]] wielding an [[Type-1 energy sword|energy sword]] decloaks and immediately assaults the Chief. John blocks the Sangheili's sword strike.  The Sangheili snarls at him, but John punches it in the face, dazing it.  He then grabs the Sangheili by the mandibles and throws it into the elevator shaft. (If the player fails to press the melee button in time, then the Sangheili slashes at John, draining his shields, and shoves him down the shaft.)''

* '''John-117''': "I thought we had [[Treaty of 2552|a truce]] with the [[Covenant separatists|Covenant]]."

* '''Cortana''': "[[Covenant remnants|A lot can happen in four years]]. Either way, he's probably not alone. We should be careful."

* '''Cortana''': "That's the last of them. Find the override for the blast shields so we can see what we're up against."

* '''Cortana''': "The good news is these Covenant aren't [[Storm harness|outfitted]] like [[Covenant military|standard military]]. It's possible we just came across a [[Covenant remnants|rogue]] salvage ship."

''The blast shields fully open, revealing a {{Pattern|Zanar|light cruiser}} fleet moving closer to the ''Dawn''. Behind the fleet, a [[Requiem|mysterious world]] ominously looms. A formation of [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshee]]s rapidly scream past the observation deck's windows.''

* '''Cortana''': "...''Or'' we might have stumbled into an ''entire'' [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant fleet]]."

* '''John-117''': "Maybe they haven't recognized us."

''Two [[Type-44 Phantom|Phantoms]], equipped with boarding arms, descend into view.''

* '''Cortana''': "That's ''one'' possibility..."

* '''Cortana''': "Landing craft, flanking us!"

[[File:H4 - Cov Explosion.jpeg|thumb|300px|The Chief kills Jul 'Mdama's Covenant boarders with a grenade.]]

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Warning - atmosphere breach. Activating emergency barricades.'''''

* '''Cortana''': "The decompression put the room into lockdown! It'll take a few minutes to repressurize."

* '''Cortana''': "I'm still reading some stragglers. Clear them out."

* '''John-117''': "Those ships could get us back to UNSC space."

* '''Cortana''': "'Could' is a generous word... especially since we've got a cruiser heading our way that will blow us out of the sky long before that."

* '''John-117''': "Are any of the ship-to-ship defenses online?"

* '''Cortana''': "No, but why should that stop us?  Head for the elevators.  The Hyperion missiles technically still have power, but we'll have to fire them manually from the outer deck."

* '''John-117''': "We need to get off this ship."

* '''Cortana''': "We've got bigger problems... We've got a cruiser on an intercept course! Head for the elevator banks."

* '''John-117''': "Didn't the ship's sensors say we still had weapons systems online?"

* '''Cortana''': "Yes, but since the ship was torn in half, we can't access the weapons stations. We'll have to fire them manually from the outer hull."

* '''John-117''': "Are any of the ship-to-ship defenses online?"

* '''Cortana''': "Only the Hyperion missiles, but we'll have to fire them manually from the outer hull."

* '''Cortana''': "That cruiser's shields are down! Assuming they don't raise them, that missile's going to be one heck of a surprise."

''John continues on, encountering increasingly thick resistance, including several [[Suicide Unggoy]].''

* '''John-117''': "[[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|These Covenant]] seem more fanatical than [[Covenant|the ones we've fought before]]."

* '''John-117''': "How far to the missile?"

* '''Cortana''': "We're just about there."

''After fighting his way through more Covenant, including a [[Commander (Covenant)|Commander]] wielding a [[Elo'Nakada-pattern concussion rifle|concussion rifle]], John reaches an airlock.''

* '''Cortana''': "The auxiliary launch station should be to your left out of the airlocks."

* '''Cortana''' ''(distorted)'': "You'll have to prime the launch for ignition!"

* '''John-117''': "Cortana?"

* '''Cortana''': "It's nothing. Just get to the launch station."

* '''Cortana''': "Uh, I'm sorry - did I miss orbiting a ''Forerunner planet'' at some point?"

* '''John-117''': "One thing at a time."

* '''Cortana''': "Chief, you need to find the missile controls."

[[File:H4 campaign dawn.jpeg|thumb|300px|Jul 'Mdama's Covenant fleet around the ''Dawn''{{'}}s wreckage.]]

* '''Cortana''': "There's the launch station!"

* '''Cortana''': "Launch initiated!"

* '''Cortana''': "Great, the blast door's jammed! The missile won't fire until it's cleared. Get down there!"

* '''Cortana''': "You did it - get back!"

* '''Cortana''': "Chief?"

* '''John-117''': "The Covenant weren't the ones scanning us."

* '''Cortana''': "So, ''now'' can we worry about the giant metal planet?"

* '''Cortana''': "It's using a gravity well to pull us inside the surface!"

* '''Cortana''': "We've gotta hurry. The second we cross the dome's event horizon, its atmosphere is going to tear us apart!"

* '''John-117''': "Where are the closest escape pods?"

* '''Cortana''': "Aft vehicle bay! I'm tagging the closest airlock, ''go''!"

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Hull integrity at 30 percent.'''''

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Warning - system depressurization.'''''

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Please immediately proceed to nearest life-station.'''''

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Hull integrity at 25 percent.'''''

* '''Cortana''': "All but one of the grav generators just went dark!"

* '''John-117''': "Just keep me pointed at that vehicle bay."

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Emergency escape pods have been depleted in this area.'''''

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Hull integrity at 15 percent.'''''

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Hull integrity at 10 percent. Warning - critical ship damage.'''''

* '''Cortana''': "We're almost there!"

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Hull integrity at 5 percent. Personnel are advised to evacuate immediately.'''''

* '''System (PA)''': '''''Warning - catastrophic depressurization.'''''

* '''Cortana''': "Chief!"

* '''Cortana''': "Hold on!"

* '''Cortana''': "We're caught in the gravity well!"

* '''John-117''': "Can you track the escape pods?"

* '''Cortana''': "Negative - ''look out!''"

* This level is reminiscent of the level ''[[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|The Pillar of Autumn]]'' from ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'': both levels involve the Master Chief awakening from cryo-sleep, retrieving Cortana, and defending a ship from Covenant boarders before crash-landing on a Forerunner installation. It is also similar to the level ''[[Cairo Station]]'' from ''[[Halo 2]]'', in which John repels boarders, fights on the eponymous station's outer hull, and destroys a Covenant ship with explosives.

* The cutscene depicting John dislodging the missile from its silo is one of the few occurrences in which he is depicted being equipped with the weapon that the player is using at that moment in a level. In most cutscenes, John is depicted being equipped with scripted weapons regardless of what weapon the player has at the time. The only other notable time that John is seen equipped with the weapon chosen by the player is during ''[[Halo 2]]''{{'}}s cutscenes.

* The Elite that John encounters at the elevator shaft is unaffected by the [[Halo 4 skulls#Thunderstorm|Thunderstorm skull]].

* John-117's service record misidentifies the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} as a frigate. It also incorrectly states that John prevented the firing of [[Installation 05]], when it was in fact [[Miranda Keyes]], with the help of [[Thel 'Vadam]], who prevented the firing.

* John's grapple with the Sangheili Storm is similar to a vignette from ''[[Halo: Reach]]''. In the level ''[[Winter Contingency]]'', [[SPARTAN-B312]] punches a Sangheili Zealot while pinned to the ground, narrowly saving him/herself from being stabbed by an [[energy dagger]]. In both cases, the Elites' shields do not flare when punched.

===Concept art===

File:H4_ForwardUntoDawn_Concept_2.jpg|Concept art of the ''Dawn''{{'}}s wreckage.

File:H4-Concept-Dawn-Cryo.jpg|Early concept art of the cryo bay, with Jul's Covenant boarders surrounding the Chief.

File:H4_ForwardUntoDawn_CryoRoom_Concept.jpg|Finalized concept art of the cryo bay.

File:H4 DawnHologramRoom Concept.jpg|Concept art for the holo table room.

File:H4_JohnandCortana_Concept.jpg|Concept art of the Chief and Cortana inside the ''Dawn''.

File:H4_Iris_Concept_3.jpg|Concept art of the ''Dawn'' dissolving as the ship enters Requiem's gravity well.

{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Levels|H4}}

[[Category:Halo 4 campaign]]