Editing SWORD Base

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Base infobox

|location=[[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]], [[Eposz]], [[Reach]]{{Ref/Reuse|ONI: SB}}

|armament=[[M71 Scythe|M71 "Scythe" AA guns]]{{Ref/Reuse|ONI: SB}}

|destroyed=[[2552#August|August 29, 2552]]{{Ref/Book|Id=EVG|EVG|Page=192}}

'''SWORD Base''',<ref name="Journal">'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', ''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref> sometimes parsed as '''Sword Base''',{{Ref/Reuse|EVG}} was an [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] facility located near the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]], [[Eposz]] on the colony of [[Reach]].{{Ref/Level|Id=ONI: SB|HR|[[ONI: Sword Base]]}}<ref name="BWU">[http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=BWU_040910 '''Bungie.net''': ''Bungie Weekly Update: 04.09.10'']</ref> An [[Wikipedia:Pannonian Avars|Avar]] [[Wikipedia:Turko-Mongol sabers|saber]] was the emblem of SWORD Base.{{Ref/Novel|SoR|Chapter=5}} In [[2552]], the base's head of security was [[Ádám Virág]]{{Ref/Reuse|Journal}} and its air controller was known by the call sign [[Sword Control]].{{Ref/Reuse|ONI: SB}}

==Overview==

===Location===

A few smaller outposts, including [[Farragut Station]] and [[Airview Base]], were located near the facility. The base also has several maintenance hallways for the facility's engineers. In addition, a [[Forerunner]] [[Babd Catha Forerunner Complex|ship]] that had crashed in the area millennia earlier had become enveloped by the ice shelf deep below the facility.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141013072843/https://blogs.halowaypoint.com/en-us/blogs/headlines/posts/the-halo-bulletin-4-16-14 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''The Halo Bulletin: 4.16.14'']</ref> The crashed vessel contained numerous research stations, including one of [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey's]] labs.

The base's interior consisted of a long and tall main atrium, with smaller rooms, walkways and staircases on both of its sides. The atrium had a ceiling of glass running along its length, which also extended down the wall on the other end of the atrium. Two specimens of [[Covenant]] [[technology]] recovered during [[Operation: GUARDIAN LANCE]] were on display in the main atrium.{{Ref/Map|HR|[[Sword Base]]}} Outside the main complex lies a military airfield, and numerous [[M71 Scythe|M71 "Scythe" AA guns]].{{Ref/Reuse|ONI: SB}}

[[File:HaloReach - Package Intro.jpg|thumb|left|250px|SPARTAN-B312 returns to SWORD Base, reduced to flaming ruins by the Covenant glassing.]]

During the [[Fall of Reach]] on [[2552#July|July 26, 2552]], Sword Base became the target of [[Battle of Sword Base|an attack]] by a single {{Pattern|Ceudar|heavy corvette}}. As the Covenant launched their assault on the base and the surrounding outposts, the base was defended by [[UNSC Army]] forces that were in the area. Soon, [[NOBLE Team]] was called in to assist the defensive forces, and ultimately managed to fend off the assault force. After the defensive, two [[GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords]] were called in to push the corvette away from the base, and as the vessel began to depart, one of Reach's [[orbital defense platform]]s destroyed it from above.{{Ref/Reuse|ONI: SB}}

Shortly after, the Covenant launched a full invasion of Reach and Sword Base was invaded, resulting in the deaths of most its ONI personnel; the airfield was reduced to magma and Farragut Station was flooded by the melting ice floes nearby. The Covenant forces at the facility soon realized that the base was built on top of a Forerunner site. The Covenant reinforced the ruined facility with numerous ground forces and two [[Cheru-pattern Tyrant|anti-air cannons]]. NOBLE Team was dispatched to destroy the site and prevent any of the facility's secrets from falling into the Covenant's hands in accordance with [[Operation: WHITE GLOVE]].<ref name="Legendary">''[[Halo: Reach Legendary Edition]]'' [[:File:Journal Contents.jpg|container manifest]]</ref> NOBLE Team was soon contacted by Dr. Halsey, who asked them to take a fragment of the AI [[Cortana]] to the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}. While Carter-A259 insisted that the base be destroyed, Halsey countered that others would perform the demolition. During the package's recovery, the Covenant discovered the Forerunner ship was reachable through the frozen lake near the Sword Base and began sending numerous Phantoms and Banshees to secure the site. Halsey destroyed the ship and the base with explosive charges to prevent them from falling into Covenant hands.{{Ref/Reuse|EVG}}

Some time prior to Sword Base's demolition, a small team of Office of Naval Intelligence operatives covertly entered the facility with the mission to ensure the destruction of sensitive information as part of [[Operation: WHITE GLOVE]]. Discovering Dr. Halsey was still alive, they planned to kill her and destroy her remains to avoid having to evacuate her.<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', ''[[Halo: Reach radio conversations#Glacier|Glacier radio conversation]]''</ref> ONI also acquired [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]] from her laboratory, cased in a [[600 series ONI security container]].{{Ref/Reuse|Legendary}}

 

===Postwar===

 

 

==Production notes==

According to concept artist [[Isaac Hannaford]], the designers of Sword Base were given considerable creative leeway due to time constraints. As a result, the design of the base drew on inspirations from a stealth fighter for the outside and a hospital for the inside to give it a very "cold and impersonal" feel.<ref name="hannaford">[http://www.isaachannaford.com/2011/02/onis-sword-base-and-katherine-halseys.html '''Blog of Isaac Hannaford''': ''ONI's Sword Base and Katherine Halsey's Reach hide out'']</ref> Hannaford wanted the outside to look "top secret".{{Ref/Twitter|Isaac_Hannaford|1375499036518612996|Isaac Hannaford|Quote=Shape exploration for Sword Base.  I wanted the outside to say top secret which is where the stealth fighter aesthetic developed.|D=27|M=3|Y=2021}} Additionally, due to the base's ONI setting, it was imagined that the base's defenses were not part of the base itself, and instead brought in by the [[UNSC Army]] during the base's defense.{{Ref/Reuse|hannaford}}

{{Ref/Sources}}

 

[[Category:ONI bases]]