Editing Installation 03

{{Era|Forerunner|HCW|Post}}

|description=Deserts, jungles, and volcanic terrain<ref name="enc">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 174''</ref>

|location=[[Khaphrae system]]<ref name="H4EVG">'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]'''</ref> {{C|formerly}}

|anchor=

*[[Flood]] containment and research<ref name="halo array"/>

|caretaker=[[Monitor]] [[049 Abject Testament]]<ref name="Terminal">'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''', ''[[Terminal/Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary#Terminal 2|Terminal 2]]''</ref>

|constructed=c. [[97,445 BCE]]<ref name="halo array"/>

|gravity=1.1 G<ref name="universe"/>

|surface temperature=-21°C to 43°C (-6°F to 109°F)<ref name="universe"/>

|atmosphere=1.02 ([[Wikipedia:Nitrogen|N₂]], [[Oxygen|O₂]], [[Argon|Ar]])<ref name="universe"/>

'''Installation 03''', also known as '''Gamma Halo''',<ref name="Composer">'''Halo 4''', ''Composer'' ([[Halo 4 audio logs|audio log]])</ref><ref name="11h">''[[Eleventh Hour reports]] - #5''</ref><ref group="note">In [[:File:H3 halo inner ring title.PNG|''Halo 3'''s texture files]], Installation 03 is named "Eta Halo", while the designation "Gamma Halo" is given to [[Installation 06]]. This is contradicted by one of the [[Halo 4 audio logs|audio logs]] in ''Halo 4'', (as well as the [[Eleventh Hour reports]]), which identify Installation 03 as "Gamma Halo". Since the name assigned to the ring in ''Halo 4'' is conveyed in released media, it is considered to override the previous designation, which was never seen outside ''Halo 3'''s files.</ref> is one of the [[seven]] ring-shaped superweapons that comprise the [[Forerunner]]s' [[Halo Array]]. Its [[monitor]] is [[049 Abject Testament]].<ref name="Terminal"/> The ring appears to have a red and cracked surface, indicating the presence of vast deserts and volcanic activity, but it also features jungles.<ref name="enc"/>

Although Installation 03 was originally anchored in orbit around a gas giant for the firing of the Array,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 237''</ref> by the time of its discovery by humanity in the twenty-sixth century, it orbited a rocky planet, the face of which had been shattered as a result of a fairly recent impact event; the debris from the impact, still aglow as of [[2557]], has collected to form a dense [[asteroid]] field in orbit over the planet as well as the Halo.<ref name="composer">'''Halo 4''', ''[[Composer (level)|Composer]]''</ref>

The [[Forerunner]]s had Installation 03 constructed by the [[Foundry]] of [[Installation 00]]<ref name="p371">'''[[Halo: Primordium]]''', ''page 371''</ref> approximately around the same time as the rest of the [[Halo Array]], circa [[97,445 BCE]] during the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].<ref name="halo array"/><ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-array-with-words '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Array With Words'']</ref> The array was designed by the Forerunner [[Builder]]s to combat the parasitic [[Flood]] by eradicating them and all [[Sentience|sentient]] life in the [[Milky Way]]. After the rings were built, Installation 03 and its fellow Halos were distributed from Installation 00 to positions across the galaxy through [[slipstream space]] [[Slipspace portal|portals]].<ref name="halo array"/><ref>'''[[Halo Legends]]''', ''[[Origins]]''</ref>  

Afterwards, the Halo Array was [[Great Purification|fired]] and eradicated all sentient life from the galaxy. The Forerunners proceeded to [[Reintroduction|reseed]] the galaxy with life from the species that were [[Conservation Measure|preserved]] on the Halo installations. Like its fellow installations, Installation 03 became home to dormant specimens of the Flood that were intended to be used to help find a cure to the parasite in the future. With the Flood defeated, the surviving Forerunners exiled themselves from the galaxy.<ref name="halo array"/>

During the [[Battle of Tribute]] in [[2552#August|August 2552]], the freighter ''[[Floral Express]]'' fled the planet while carrying colonial refugees. Presumably following a random [[slipspace]] trajectory per the [[Cole Protocol]], the ship arrived near Installation 03 on [[2552#October|October 8]]. Based on intelligence gleaned from the [[Battle of Installation 04]], ONI teams established and enacted neutralization protocols on Gamma Halo by October 25.<ref name="11h"/>  

On [[2552#November|November 3, 2552]], during the [[Battle of Installation 05|Battle]] of [[Installation 05]], [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae|Chieftain]] [[Tartarus]] of the [[Covenant]] activated Installation 05, though [[United Nations Space Command]] and [[Sangheili]] forces managed to terminate the firing sequence before the Halo could fire. As per fail-safe protocol in the event of an unexpected shutdown, a signal was sent to Installation 01 and the rest of the Halos from Installation 05, placing all Halos of the array on standby mode, ready for remote activation from Installation 00. A readout from Installation 05's [[Control Room|control room]] showed that Installation 01 was fully prepared to fire on demand.<ref name="enc"/><ref name="great journey"/>

However, during the [[Battle of Installation 00]] on [[2552#December|December 11, 2552]], the UNSC and allied Sangheili forces fought to prevent the Covenant from firing the Halo Array from the Ark, as Installation 01 and its fellow Halos were still in standby mode and was prepared to receive the signal to fire. Eventually, [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] succeeded in deactivating Installation 01, as well as the rest of the array, before it could be fired.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level, ''[[The Covenant]]''</ref>

By [[2553|March 2553]], the top-secret research station ''[[Ivanoff]]'' had been built in Installation 03's orbit. That month, Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]] was indefinitely detained there by [[Admiral]] [[Margaret Parangosky]], CINCONI, as retribution for lying to the admiral about the creation and deployment of [[flash clone]]s during the SPARTAN-II program's early phases.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 341''</ref> [[Spartan (branch)|Spartan]] teams were deployed to reconnoiter the surface, to quarantine areas of potential [[Flood]] contamination, and to recovery any notable Forerunner artifacts.<ref name="H4EVG"/> The [[PIONEER-class Mjolnir]] variant first saw field use during these exploratory deployments.<ref>'''Halo 4''', ''Pioneer armor/specialization description''</ref>  

In [[2555#March|March of 2555]], [[monitor]] [[000 Tragic Solitude]] of Installation 00 utilized [[Bobby Kodiak|a captured human]] to activate the Halo Array's firing sequence, triggering a countdown set for the Halos firing in five weeks from [[2555#March|March 8, 2555]].<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''pages 39-42'' (Google Play edition)</ref> After discovering the countdown on [[Installation 07]], the UNSC and [[Swords of Sanghelios]] launched a [[Operation: FAR STORM|joint operation]] to Installation 00 in which a team destroyed Tragic Solitude and ended the Halo Array's firing sequence.<ref name="hitd262"/>

[[File:HM-Composer extraction.png|thumb|left|250px|The Composer being extracted from the surface of Installation 03 by {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.]]

The ONI science teams retrieved various artifacts from the surface of Installation 03 and brought them on Ivanoff Station for study, including the installation's [[activation index]], a [[war sphinx]]'s "eye",<ref name="canonfodder">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-have-s-moa '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder: Have S'moa'']</ref> and a [[Composer]]. An accident with the Composer killed the team researching the device; however, it provided coordinates which led the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} to the [[shield world]] known as [[Requiem]]. When the [[Ur-Didact]] was awakened, he traveled to Ivanoff in his ship ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'' and [[Raid on Ivanoff Station|acquired the Composer]] on [[2557#July|July 24, 2557]], using it to digitize Ivanoff's staff before jumping to slipspace to travel to [[Earth]] to use the recovered weapon on humanity's homeworld.<ref name="composer"/> However, SPARTAN-117 and Cortana followed the Didact into slipspace in an [[F-41 Broadsword]] in hopes of foiling his plan, ultimately defeating him.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Midnight]]''</ref>

By the time of the Didact's attack, [[SPARTAN-II]] [[Black Team]] had been assigned to Gamma Halo,<ref>[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2963929_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2963929 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'']</ref> along with a research attaché. The science team established a camp in one of the Halo's deserts. On July 25, Team Black and the scientists were killed by the Didact and his Promethean machines, who had been flung to the Halo through the Composer's slipspace portal aboard ''Mantle's Approach'' during the [[New Phoenix Incident]]. Around the same time, [[859 Static Carillon]], the monitor of the [[Composer's Forge]], attempted to contact Gamma Halo's monitor after a service portal between the Halo and the Composer's Forge was reopened. Receiving no response, Static Carillon traveled through the portal to the [[Composer's Abyss]] on Installation 03, where he encountered the Didact. At the Promethean's request, the monitor led him to the portal to the Composer's Forge.<ref name="HE9">'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 9|Issue #9]]''</ref>

====The Conduit====

During these events, [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|Covenant forces]] landed in a jungled region of Gamma Halo where they took the artifact known as the [[Conduit]] to a Forerunner structure they termed the [[Altar]] in order to open [[slipspace portal]]s all over Gamma Halo and take control of the ring. A large number of UNSC forces, including [[Marine]]s and a [[Spartan]] [[Headhunter]], were sent to the area to reacquire the Conduit from the Altar.<ref>'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', ''[[Operation B: Steadfast Pursuit]]''</ref> After securing the Conduit, the Spartan was redeployed to Earth in hopes of using the Conduit to deter an ongoing [[Promethean]] invasion of [[New Phoenix]].<ref>'''Halo: Spartan Strike''', ''[[Operation C: Valiant Hammer]]''</ref>

{{Main|Skirmish on Installation 03}}

On July 25, 2557, [[Blue Team]] arrived on Installation 03 to investigate the loss of contact with Black Team on [[Terrence Hood|Admiral Terrence Hood]]'s orders. Upon discovering the fate of Black Team and the scientists, and destroying some of the Knights responsible for the massacre, they soon came across the Composer's Abyss and the slipspace portal within.<ref name="HE8">'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 8|Issue #8]]''</ref> Entering the service portal, Blue Team arrived at the Composer's Forge, where they encountered the Didact once again. At the Didact's request, 859 Static Carillon transported Installation 03 through slipspace to orbit over the planet housing the Composer's Forge. The Didact used the portal to return to Gamma Halo, taking one of the Composers with him. Blue Team followed in close pursuit and were confronted by the Didact again at the top of the Composer's Abyss.<ref name="HE9"/> Though the Spartans were nearly killed by the Didact, Static Carillon arrived to the site in time to save them, incapacitating the Didact and sending him into [[Control Room (Installation 03)|Gamma Halo's control room]] by utilizing the local [[teleportation grid]].<ref name="HE10">'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 10|Issue #10]]''</ref>

Wielding Gamma Halo's [[Activation Index]] which Didact had dropped when the monitor ambushed him, John-117 followed the Didact into the control room with Static Carillon's help while the other Spartans returned to their Longsword. The Master Chief used the Index to give 859 Static Carillon control of Gamma Halo, enabling the monitor to detach the segment of the ring housing the control center. This caused massive cracks to appear in the landscape surrounding the removed plate. Static Carillon was momentarily preoccupied with stabilizing the Halo as the plate's sudden removal would have otherwise resulted in the ring's destruction. Although the plates on both sides of the removed portion were not immediately connected, thus closing the loop of the ring, Gamma Halo was able to maintain structural integrity. After teleporting John-117 to safety just as the removed fragment impacted the Composer's Forge and destroyed it, Static Carillon took Installation 03 for safekeeping and repairs in an undisclosed location.<ref name="HE10"/>

File:H4-GammaHaloInst03-ScanScreen.jpg|Another view of Installation 03

File:KhaphraeSystem-planet.jpg|The destroyed planet around which Gamma Halo formerly orbited.

File:Escalation - GammaHalo Longsword.png|Blue Team's Longsword over the Halo

File:Escalation - Desert.png|A desert on Installation 03

File:Escalation - GammaCamp.png|A human science camp in a desert on the Halo's surface

File:Escalation - BlackTeam&Didact.png|Black Team discovering the unconscious [[Ur-Didact]] on the installation

File:Escalation - AbyssEntrance.png|The entrance to the [[Composer's Abyss]]

File:HE Installation 03 damaged.jpg|[[859 Static Carillon]] detaches a segment of the Halo, damaging the surface of the ring

**''[[Terminal/Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary|Terminals]]''

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

*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''

 

{{Reflist|2}}