Editing Fate of Maethrillian

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Cleanup}}
{{Battle infobox
|name        = Fate of Maethrillian
|image       =[[File:FoM.jpg|300px]]
|prev        = Eventually the [[Battle of G617 g1]]
|conc        = 
|next        = [[Battle for Gyre 11]]
|conflict    = [[Forerunner-Flood war]]
|date        = Several years prior to [[97,445 BCE]]
|place       = [[Maethrillian]]
|result      = '''Decisive Flood victory'''
*10 Halo installations destroyed
*Forerunner leadership crippled
*Installation 07 successfully withdrawn by Mendicant Bias
*Omega Halo withdrawn to the [[Greater Ark]]
|side1       = *Forerunner [[ecumene]]
|side2       = *[[Flood]]
*[[Sentinel|Automated systems]] on the Halos
|commanders1 =*[[IsoDidact]]
*[[Ecumene Council]]
*[[Supreme Mantle Court]]
|commanders2 =*[[Primordial]]
*[[Mendicant Bias]]
|forces1     =*Capital defense fleet
*Reinforcement fleet
**3 [[Fortress-class vessel|fortresses]]
**5 [[Forerunner cruiser|cruisers]]
**Thousands of attack vessels
|forces2     =*Five Halo installations
**Sentinels
|casual1     = *Unknown number of ships
|casual2     = *Ten Halo installations{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi4|Epi|4}}
*Unknown number of [[Sentinel]]s 
}}

The '''Battle of the Capital''' was a major conflict fought in the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] between the forces loyal to the [[Forerunner]]s' [[Ecumene Council]] and the [[Rampancy|rampant]] [[Contender-class artificial intelligence|Contender-class]] [[ancilla]] [[Mendicant Bias]], which had defected to the [[Flood]]. The conflict took place on and around the [[Capital]], the political center of the [[Forerunner]] [[ecumene]].

==Background==
Around [[97,495 BCE]], the {{Class|Contender|artificial intelligence}} [[Mendicant Bias]], in control of all Forerunner defenses including the twelve original [[Halo Array|Halo rings]], had been charged with conducting the first test of a Halo installation. The test was carried out using [[Installation 07]] in [[Charum Hakkor]]'s [[Charum Hakkor system|star system]]. Unexpectedly, the activation released the [[Primordial]], an archaic [[Gravemind]] left behind by the [[Precursor]]s. This creature was then taken on the ring for study; soon after, Mendicant Bias entered an extended discourse with the being by order of [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]]. After the test, Mendicant Bias and the ring disappeared and were not seen for decades.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 190-192''</ref>

==Battle==
Forty-three years later, Bias unexpectedly returned with the Halo to the Forerunner capital, having been [[Logic plague|subverted]] by the Gravemind and driven toward the destruction of the Forerunner race. He infiltrated the Capital's defense systems, deactivated all present [[ancilla]]s and security constructs, and held the [[Ecumene Council]] hostage by overriding their [[Forerunner personal armor|armor]] and rendering them immobile.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 300''</ref> Bias was temporarily deactivated by [[IsoDidact|Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], who was host to the memories of the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] and issued a verbal failsafe code. The Capital was released from Mendicant's control, and began activating its defensive systems.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 303''</ref>

Despite losing control of the Capital, Mendicant Bias could still exert control over five of the twelve Halos in orbit around the megastructure, overriding its non-rampant fragments based on the rings. These installations immediately began charging their main weapons and positioning themselves around the Capital in preparation to attack.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 307'' </ref> Although any one of the five Halos could single-handedly have destroyed all Forerunner resistance, by charging all of them at once, Bias intended to ensure that at least one of the rings successfully fired if the rest were destroyed.

With the Capital still recovering and the Council [[metarchy]] collapsed, the Forerunner defense fleet responded to the threat with lethal force. All ships in the area began attack runs on the stolen Halos. The [[monitor]]s in charge of the Halo installations, programmed to respond to any threat to their installations regardless of their source, engaged in a counterattack by deploying the installations' [[sentinel]] contingents.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 313''</ref> Two of the Halos were destroyed due the heavy bombardment of the Forerunner fleet and the tidal forces of the Capital.

The seven Halos still under Forerunner control were ordered to travel through a nearby [[slipspace portal]] and return to the [[greater Ark]]. One of them, [[Omega Halo]],<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 237''</ref> successfully made it through the portal intact, but was severely damaged by the stress of the transition.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 316''</ref> The second in line was destroyed upon the arrival of a third fortress ship, just as it began to enter the portal.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 320''</ref> Shortly after this, Installation 07 successfully fired, presumably wiping out all combatants in the area. Installation 07 subsequently transitioned out of the system.<ref name="fire">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 272''</ref>

==Aftermath==
The outcome of the battle is largely unknown, as little information exists on events following Bornstellar's escape. It is known that at least one of the five Halos under Mendicant Bias' control was destroyed,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 314''</ref> and that at least one of the remaining rings—[[Installation 07]]—was fired. Of the seven Halos that attempted to escape, only one successfully entered the portal. There, it joined the newer array of six installations under the control of the [[Librarian]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 335''</ref>

[[First Councilor]] and [[First Observer of the Court]] [[Splendid Dust of Ancient Suns]] was rescued from the capital by Warrior-Servant [[Glory of a Far Dawn]], along with Bornstellar.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 304'' </ref> Bornstellar, now in possession of the Didact's memories and personality, went on to assume his role as the supreme commander of the Forerunner military;<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 348''</ref> subsequently, he became known as the IsoDidact.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 20''</ref> Although Installation 07 managed to fire within range of the Capital,{{Ref/Reuse|fire}} the Council was reconstituted as the "New Council" shortly after the attack from survivors found deep within the Capital world, having survived the Halo's pulse there.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 18''</ref>

The rampant Mendicant Bias survived the battle intact by retreating into a distant system aboard Installation 07. However, the Halo was later intercepted and seized by the IsoDidact's forces. The installation's Mendicant Bias fragment was captured and was subsequently forced to undergo a process to "correct" its rampancy.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 356''</ref> The AI was splintered into many of its components, which were then spread throughout the ecumene for study. However, this was not ultimately successful in stopping the rampant Mendicant Bias, as the Flood would soon overrun the sites where the scattered portions of the AI were being held and managed to rebuild and reactivate the AI.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 267-268''</ref>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''
*''[[Halo: Fractures]]''
**''[[Promises to Keep]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]'' {{Mo}}

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

{{Forerunner-Flood War}}
[[Category:Battles]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maethrillian}}