Editing Raid on Installation 08

{{Era|HCW}}

|prev=[[Battle of Installation 00]]<br/>[[Raid on High Charity]]

|forces1=*SPARTAN-II (1)

*Sangheili Arbiter (1)

*[[Sergeant Major|SgtMaj]] [[Avery Junior Johnson|Avery J. Johnson]]

*[[Pelican dropship]] (1)

The '''Raid on Installation 08''' was a small engagement between the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]]-[[Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili]] alliance, [[the Flood]] and later the [[Forerunner]] [[Sentinel]]s acting under [[343 Guilty Spark]]'s orders. It took place immediately after the [[Raid on High Charity|raid]] on [[High Charity]] and marked the end of both the [[Battle of Installation 00]] and the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref>

After realizing that the [[Prophet of Truth]] had gained access to the Ark, a joint UNSC-Sangheili attack force was sent through the [[Portal at Voi]] to combat the Prophet of Truth's Covenant force there, and stop the Covenant form activating the [[Halo Array]] and destroying all sentient life in the galaxy.

Once inside, the team hesitantly tried to activate the Installation immediately. [[343 Guilty Spark]], after realizing that firing the partially-completed Installation would destroy the megastructure as well as the Ark, turned against the team. His initial attack mortally wounded the sergeant and blasted the former Arbiter out of the control room. John-117 was severely injured by the initial blast to the point of draining his shield. The SPARTAN was locked into a battle with the rampant Monitor and struggled to destroy it. The mortally wounded Sergeant Johnson took the rogue Monitor by surprise with his [[M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle|Spartan Laser]], temporarily incapacitated the Forerunner construct. John, seizing the moment, used the sergeant's Spartan Laser to destroy Guilty Spark. John tended to the grievously wounded Johnson, whose dying words were  ''"send me out, with a bang."'' Cortana gave her condolences to John, briefly mourning the death of his friend, before firing the Installation using the Activation Index.

As the remaining members of the team exited the control room, they found themselves fighting against both Sentinels and the Flood. During the battle, the team were addressed telepathically by the Gravemind, who warned them that their efforts would only delay the Flood's ultimate goal of consuming the galaxy. The team made their way out of the vicinity of the tower and commandeered an abandoned [[Warthog]] left behind by Sergeant Johnson. With the vehicle, the team rode to the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' as fast as they could, passing through a labyrinth of construction tunnels, and collapsing platforms. The team eventually made it to the ''Dawn'' by crash-landing into the ship's cargo bay. Thel quickly climbed to the bridge and started piloting the ship to safety, while John struggled to hold on in the cargo bay of the vessel. As they approached the Portal, the incomplete Installation fired, causing it to explode and severely damage the Ark. Master Chief John-117, Cortana, and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam had escaped.

This battle apparently marked the end of the Flood threat. As the incomplete Halo fired, it obliterated itself, along with presumably all Flood and Sentinel forces, as well as any surviving Covenant forces on it or the Ark, which being directly below the installation, was severely damaged.<ref name="Array"/>

Some time after the battle, the UNSC dispatched a number of scouting groups to the wreckage of the Ark. While it was originally assumed that 343 Guilty Spark was destroyed by John-117, it was later found that he survived his damages, albeit in an irreversibly damaged state. He sent a distress signal that was heard by the UNSC teams. In response, a scout vessel, {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}}, was sent to investigate. The crew discovered the remains of Guilty Spark's monitor shell among the wreckage and brought him back to the ship,<ref>'''[[Eleventh Hour reports|Eleventh Hour report 4]]'''</ref> where he told them [[Halo: Primordium|his life story]]. Afterward, his crippled shell was jettisoned into space. Just before this, however, he uploaded his consciousness into the ship's computer, purged its AI, rendered the crew unconscious, and set a course for where he believed the [[Librarian]] to be.<ref>'''[[Halo: Primordium]]'''</ref> With the help of the crew of the ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' and now residing in an [[armiger]] body, Spark [[Mission to Mount Kilimanjaro|met with]] a personality imprint of the Librarian beneath [[Mount Kilimanjaro]] who helped Spark move on from his past and to a new future with the crew of the ''Ace of Spades''. However, Spark was hunted by [[ONI]] for the wealth of information he could provide them with.<ref>'''[[Halo: Renegades]]'''</ref>

In mid [[2559]], the [[Banished]] and the crew of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} fought for control over the Ark, which by then had fully repaired itself and finished constructing [[Installation 09|a second replacement ring]]. At some point during the conflict, the Banished inadvertently released a number of surviving Flood forms from the remains of [[High Charity]], thus starting a second Flood outbreak on the Ark, and validating the Gravemind's final warning. However, after Banished forces killed a [[Proto-Gravemind]] on the verge of becoming a [[Gravemind]], the Flood were contained again by the Banished and the Ark's Sentinel defense network.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]'''</ref>

Following the destruction of [[Installation 08]], the Ark constructed [[Installation 09|a new replacement]] for [[Installation 04]]. By the time the ''Spirit of Fire'' arrived at the Ark in 2559, it was nearly completed.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level. ''[[Hold the Line]]''</ref> The new Halo ring was subsequently launched to the [[Soell system]] in an effort to send a [[distress beacon]] back to human space, but was intercepted en route by a [[Created]] [[Guardian]].<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level, ''[[Last Stand]]''</ref>

File:DeathofAveryJohnson.jpg|Guilty Spark mortally wounds Johnson.

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{{Human-Covenant War}}

[[Category:UNSC Victories]]