Editing Distress beacon

{{Status|Canon}}
[[File:HR-TrooperBeacon.png|thumb|300px|A distress beacon employed by [[UNSC Army]] personnel.]]
A '''distress beacon''' is an automated signal device used in the event of an emergency in space. Various forms of distress beacons exist, including '''emergency locator beacons''',{{Ref/Novel|Id=fs|FS|Detail=''[[Tug o' War]]''}} while a particular type of beacon that utilizes [[slipstream space]] is colloquially referred to as the '''slipbeacon'''.{{Ref/Comic|Id=blood|HBL|Detail=''[[Halo: Blood Line Issue 1|Issue 1]]''}} Distress beacons are mounted on most [[human]] starships, and are compact enough to fit in a [[cryo chamber|cryo-tube]].{{Ref/Reuse|fs}}

==Operational History==
In [[2526]], during the [[Battle of Circinius IV]], Cadet [[Thomas Lasky]] used a distress beacon in an attempt to get help for [[Hastati Squad]], but believed that that the beacon was broken when he got no response. After the [[John-117|Master Chief]] showed up, he explained that he found the cadets due to the distress beacon.{{Ref/Film|FuD}}

In [[2552]], a distress beacon was activated by Army fireteams in [[Visegrád]] after [[Battle of Visegrád|encountering]] the Covenant. The beacon was detected by [[NOBLE Team]] who landed nearby and investigated. However, they only found the beacon hidden under a broken wooden pallet, a wrecked Warthog, blood smears and some plasma burns, but no sign of whoever had set off the beacon or any bodies. After briefly examining it, [[Catherine-B320]] discarded the distress beacon on the ground.{{Ref/Level|HR|[[Winter Contingency]]}}

Later that year, a distress beacon was used by [[Cortana]] when the rear half of the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}} was left stranded in space after the [[Battle of Installation 00]].{{Ref/Level|H3|[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]}} In [[2557]], it was pulled into [[Requiem]] along with the remains of the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' by Requiem's [[gravity well]] and was detected by the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} which attempted to locate the source of the distress beacon.{{Ref/Level|H4|[[Requiem (level)|Requiem]]}} Unable to reach ''Infinity'' and warn them of the danger, the Master Chief and Cortana attempted to use the satellite at Requiem's core to reach ''Infinity'', inadvertently releasing the [[Ur-Didact]] in the process.{{Ref/Level|H4|[[Forerunner (level)|Forerunner]]}}

In [[2553#December|December 2553]], [[Veta Lopis]]' [[Ferret]] team used a slipbeacon to signal their location to the {{Class|Sahara|prowler}} {{UNSCShip|Silent Joe}} during [[Operation: RETRIBUTION]]. The slipbeacon was disguised as one of ten [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon]]s that the team claimed to have stolen from the {{UNSCShip|Taulanti}} as part of their cover story to gunrunner [[Ross Nyeto]].{{Ref/Novel|Ret}}

When [[Operation: BLOWBACK]] went awry, [[Team Black]] used a slipbeacon to send a distress signal to [[UNSC Fleet Command|FLEETCOM]].{{Ref/Reuse|blood}}

The [[Fetching|fetcher]] [[Oliver Birch]] used one after he and his [[List of animals|dog]] [[Mabel]] became stranded in deep space in a cryo-tube.{{Ref/Reuse|fs}}

After the [[Attack on Installation 00]], the smart-AI [[Isabel]] activated the [[Henry Lamb Research Outpost]]'s distress beacon. Upon the arrival of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} in [[2559#March|March 2559]], the long-lost ship detected the distress signal. However, the UNSC's encryption had changed in the twenty-eight years the ship had been lost and the crew was unable to decipher the signal. [[Spartan-II]] [[Red Team]] and some of the ''Spirit of Fire's'' Marines were deployed to investigate. Upon reaching the outpost, [[Jerome-092]] activated the holotable which brought up Isabel and the message Distress Beacon Activated. Under attack by [[Banished]] forces, the UNSC forces rescued Isabel, the only survivor of the attack and retreated to the ''Spirit of Fire'' where she explained what happened.{{Ref/Level|HW2|[[The Signal]]}}

During the [[Second Ark Conflict]] in [[2559]], Captain [[James Cutter]] devised a plan to plant a distress beacon on [[Installation 09]] and dispatch it to the [[Soell system]], the former home of [[Installation 04]]. There, the beacon would be within range of [[Reach]] to contact the UNSC and have them send the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} help on the Ark.{{Ref/Level|HW2|[[Hold the Line]]}} However, while Professor [[Ellen Anders]] succeeded in planting the beacon and launching the Halo ring into slipspace, it was intercepted in mid-transit by a [[Guardian]], keeping the message from being received.{{Ref/Level|HW2|[[Last Stand (Halo Wars 2 level)|Last Stand]]}}

In [[2560#May|May 2560]], [[Chak 'Lok]] used the distress beacon in Spartan [[Hudson Griffin]]'s [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VII|Mark VII]] armor to lure the Master Chief into a trap at the [[Tower]].{{Ref/Level|Id=tower|HINF|The Tower}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HR KatInspectsBeacon.jpg|[[Catherine-B320]] inspecting a distress beacon.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
**''[[Tug o' War]]'' {{Fm}}
*''[[Halo 3]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''
*''[[Halo: Reach]]''
*''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
*''[[Halo: Retribution]]''
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]''
*''[[Halo: Infinite]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Communications technology]]