Editing Operation: WHITE GLOVE

{{Era|HR|HCW}}

{{Battle

|conc = [[Battle of Asźod]]

|image =[[File:HaloReach - Package Intro.jpg|300px]]

|conflict = [[Human-Covenant war]]

|date = [[2552#August|August 29]]<ref name="package" />-30, 2552<ref name="firststrike14"/>

|side1 = [[File:Halopedia Era UNSC.png|25px]] [[United Nations Space Command]]

|commanders2 = Unknown

|forces1 = *[[File:UNSC-Army-logo1.png|25px]] [[UNSC Army]]

***[[File:Noblelogo.png|25px]] [[Noble Team]]

**[[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]

*[[File:UNSC-Navy-logo1.png|25px]] [[UNSC Navy]]

'''Operation: WHITE GLOVE''' was a broad UNSC operation to destroy the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s [[CASTLE Base|CASTLE]] and [[SWORD Base]]s.<ref name="Legendary">''[[Halo: Reach Legendary Edition]]'', [[:File:Journal Contents.jpg|container manifest]]</ref>

SWORD Base was the site of previous incursions, including the [[First Battle of Sword Base]]<ref>''[[Halo: Reach]]'', campaign level, [[ONI: Sword Base (level)|ONI: Sword Base]]</ref> and a later attack on [[2552#August|August 12, 2552]].<ref>''Halo: Reach'', campaign level, [[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]</ref> This left the base in ruins, and the Covenant began glassing area. The base was deemed critical and was ordered to be destroyed.<ref name="package">''Halo: Reach'', campaign level, [[The Package]]</ref>

[[File:HaloReach - JunEmileCarter.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Emile, Jun, and Carter fighting an Elite.]]

{{Quote|Time to get to work, Noble Six. Take out those guns.|Carter to Noble Six.<ref name="package" />}}

On August 29, 2552, [[Noble Six]] and several ODSTs showed up to the ruins of [[Farragut Station]]. They cleared out local resistance around the station, and proceeded to [[Airview Base]]. There, [[Type-38 Anti-Aircraft Cannon|Tyrants]] were blocking the remaining members of Noble Team from backing up existing forces. Along the path, they encountered more Covenant forces.<ref name="package" />

In the sky, numerous [[UH-144 Falcon]]s harassed Covenant Banshees. At Airview, Noble Six attacked defending Covenant and destroyed the Tyrants. Reinforcements, now able to move, flew to SWORD Base and began assaulting Covenant there. Noble Six regrouped with Carter-A259, [[Emile-A239]], and [[Jun-A266]] at Sword Base after battling more Covenant along the way.<ref name="package" />

Together, they entered the base and cleared out the remaining Covenant. Believing the coordinates they were given led to a structurally important part of the base, they followed. Eventually they ended up in a dead-end hallway that had been heavily defended. Noble Team was then redirected to a new set of coordinates, and a wall in the hall opened up.<ref name="package" />

===Noble working for ONI===

{{Quote|Your orders were a pretext to bring you to me and have been overridden.|Catherine Halsey to Carter-A259<ref name="package" />}}

Dr. Catherine Halsey had actually been the cause of this. Using a tram system, she took Noble Team to an underground complex as part of her plan. Halsey had been decrypting data and needed protection from fast approaching Covenant.<ref name="package" />

Noble Team, using pre-established [[M8 Automated Defense System|Wolf Spider]] turrets, mounted a successful defense against those Covenant. Upon entering Halsey's lab, Noble Team discovered their final objective; deliver [[Cortana|an AI]] to the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} in [[Asźod]]. Noble Six received the package, having been chosen to be the AIs caretaker. Noble, along with Halsey proceeded to escape the facility Jun however, was tasked with delivering Dr. Halsey to [[CASTLE Base]].<ref name="package" />

By August 30, Halsey had arrived at CASTLE Base.<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', Chapter 12</ref> By this time, Jun had left her for reasons unknown. Although the rest of the facility's personnel had evacuated, she began to enact Operation: WHITE GLOVE.<ref name="firststrike14">''Halo: First Strike'', Chapter 14</ref> She was accompanied by the AI [[Kalmiya]], a predecessor of [[Cortana]], and was harried by [[Araqiel]], the personal AI of her nemesis, [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]]. The operation called for the destruction of every [[artificial intelligence]] in the facility using the fail-safe in its [[Riemann matrix]] before the base was destroyed, thus ensuring that the Covenant did not capture such technology.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', p. 127-128</ref> After erasing Araqiel with a fail-safe command, Halsey did the same to Kalmiya. When the surviving [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs]] of [[Red Team]] arrived at the base, Halsey destroyed the facility via the self-destruct charges installed throughout the complex.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', p. 135</ref> She, [[Frederic-104]], [[William-043]], [[Vinh-030]], [[Isaac-039]], and [[Kelly-087]] were able to hide in the caves beneath the base. They were able to stop the Covenant from accessing the slipspace-distorting [[Forerunner crystal|crystal]] in the [[Menachite Forerunner complex|Forerunner complex]] beneath the base, though they became trapped for several days.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', p. 132-139</ref>

The underground complex connected to SWORD Base was destroyed.<ref name="package" /> However, just prior to this, [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]] was secured by the Office of Naval Intelligence.<ref name="Legendary"/>

Emile, Six, and Carter managed to reach Asźod, at the cost of Carter's life, and deliver the package. However, Emile was killed moments after the hand-off, and Noble Six was left stranded on the surface of Reach as it was glassed, meeting his end at the hands of a Sangheili warrior only hours later.<ref>''Halo: Reach'', campaign level, [[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Reach level)|The Pillar of Autumn]]</ref>

==List of appearances==

*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{1st}}

*''[[Halo: Reach]]''

File:HR - ODSTs ThePackage.jpg|ODSTs that accompanied Noble Six during the SWORD Base portion of the operation.