Editing Keepers of the One Freedom

{{New content|[[Halo: Retribution]]}}

The '''Keepers of the One Freedom''' are a militant [[Covenant remnants|religious movement]] operating in the [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|post-Covenant War era]]. They follow [[Covenant religion|the religion]] of the former [[Covenant]] and its belief in the [[Great Journey]],{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P247|Enc22|Page=247}} but also renounce the [[San'Shyuum]] as false "prophets."{{Ref/Novel|Id=DW3|DW|Chapter=3|Page=51|Quote=Though Castor and his Keepers had long ago renounced their loyalty to the Covenant's San'Shyuum "prophets," they remained devoted to the doctrine of the Great Journey}} Their capital has been established on the [[human]] outlaw colony of [[Venezia]], but they also have allies on [[Gao]] and other worlds, including [[Forerunner]] installations. The Keepers are led by a small group of [[Jiralhanae]] elders called [[Dokab]]s, most of whom are formerly high-ranked members of the [[Covenant military]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P247}}<ref>''Halo: Last Light'', p 168-169 (Google Play edition)</ref>

In [[2553]], a [[UNSC]] task force was dispatched to [[Gao]] with the mission of retrieving a suspected [[Forerunner]] [[ancilla]]. During their inspection, the term "ancilla" was overheard by [[Veta Lopis]], who promptly relayed this information to Gao's [[Minister of Protection]] [[Arlo Casille]]. Arlo then informed the cult leader (''Dokab'') [[Castor]] about the ancilla, much to the Jiralhanae's delight, beginning a Keeper invasion of Gao to recover the "oracle". The attack on UNSC forces began when the ''[[One Light]]'' landed in a staged inspection, dispatching 500 troops into the jungle. The first attempt to recover the ancilla involved sending a small Brute task force into the caves, where they encountered and were subsequently defeated by [[Spartan]] [[Blue Team]]. At the same time, the larger task force opened fire on the UNSC garrison at [[Wendosa]], using mortars and snipers to suppress the UNSC marines. When Blue Team eventually emerged from the cave system into the war-torn town, they pushed through the Keepers to [[Hotel Wendosa]] to link up with what remained of the garrison. Although Blue Team would be evacuated by a [[UH-144 Falcon|Falcon]], the aircraft would be shot down by Keeper snipers, crash-landing in the jungle nearby. Castor and his pack would move in to engage the survivors of the crash, but would eventually be defeated by [[Blue Team]]. Castor was presumed dead after sustaining grievous injuries at the hands of [[Frederic-104]], but would later encounter the [[Huragok]] [[Roams Alone]], who would heal the injured Jiralhanae. Castor and Orsun then proceeded to leave Gao, with plans to exact vengeance on Casille for betraying the Keepers.

The Keepers have a wide range of former [[Covenant]] and human weaponry at their disposal, including mortars, [[Type-50 particle beam rifle|Beam Rifles]], [[Type-33 Needler|Needlers]], [[Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle|Plasma Rifles]] and more traditional Jiralhanae weapons such as the [[Paegaas Workshop Spiker|Spiker]] and [[Type-52 Mauler|Mauler]]. Their manpower consists of thousands of warriors from various species, including [[Jiralhanae]], [[Kig-Yar]], [[Unggoy]], and [[human]]s.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SoR19|SoR|Chapter=19}} Their allies on [[Gao]] and [[Venezia]] have ensured a steady stream of supplies and weapons to the faction, allowing them to conduct anti-[[UNSC]] operations in a large capacity. They are also known to use [[Jiralhanae power armor]], painted blue and gold, for the colors of the Keepers.

 

However, by [[2559#October|October 2559]], the Keepers' ranks, or at least, Castor's detachment, had been decimated due to a massive eradication campaign by ONI. Castor's forces that hijacked [[Atriox]]'s [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Lich|Lich]] were all that was left of his detachment of Keepers, roughly forty in number.{{Ref/Reuse|DW1}} Despite this, numerous Keeper footholds remain across various planets and Forerunner installations, with the largest established presence still based on Venezia.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P247}}