Editing Sarcophagus

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Outdated|[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]}}

|image=[[File:HM-Crew of Onyx.jpg|300px]]

*[[Slipspace bubble]]: 23 cm<ref name="glass230">'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 230''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|enc22}}

|gravity=1.37 solar masses{{Ref/Reuse|glass230}}

'''Sarcophagus'''<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', Chapter 8, ''page 190'' (paperback) (''"LUCY-B091 RECLAIMER WELCOME TO SHIELD WORLD SARCOPHAGUS BUT LIFE GOES ON."'')</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', Chapter 5, ''page 120'' (paperback) ("If I went by Halsey’s lexicon, then this symbol here refers to ''shield world zero zero six''. I think the symbol on the end is ''sarcophagus''.")</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]''', ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop 4]]''</ref> is a massive Forerunner [[shield world]] in the [[Zeta Doradus system]], having been previously located within the artificial planet [[Onyx]].

==Overview==

The formal designation of Sarcophagus is '''Shield World 006''',<ref name="SW 006">'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 120''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|hloo6}} which is sometimes rendered as '''Shield World 0006'''.<ref name="warfleet">'''[[Halo: Warfleet]]''', ''page 13''</ref>{{Ref/Book|Id=enc22|Enc22|Page=358}} It is also referred to by the [[Forerunners]] as the '''Sharpened Shield''',<ref name="enc">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', ''page 301'' (2011 edition)</ref> and as '''Quarantine Safeguard'''.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}} 

As Sarcophagus came to occupy the space of the former planet,{{Ref/Novel|Id=hloo6|HLOO|Chapter=6}} the shield world is referred to as '''Onyx''' by the UNSC.{{Ref/Reuse|lessons}}{{Ref/Reuse|hloo6}} The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] officially designates{{Ref/Reuse|hloo6}} it as '''ONI Research Facility Trevelyan''' ('''ONIRF Trevelyan''') in honor of the late [[Kurt Ambrose|Kurt Trevelyan]].<ref name="glass397">'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 397''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|hloo6}} As the [[human]] and [[Sangheili]] presence there expanded beyond what research was being conducted by ONI, "ONIRF Trevelyan" became less associated with the shield world at large, now referring more specifically to the ONI installation on its surface. By [[2554#April|April 2554]], the sphere had come to house the joint UNSC-[[Swords of Sanghelios]] [[Onyx United Research Project]] and contained a [[Paxopolis|growing settlement]] with a population in the thousands.<ref name="lessons">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', "[[Lessons Learned]]"</ref>

The observed portion of the interior surface of Sarcophagus is rolling hills and verdant forest, with several Forerunner cities in between.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''', ''pages 271, 274''</ref> As the Forerunners never arrived, the shield world is entirely maintained by [[Huragok]] and [[Sentinel]]s, including cylindrical drones tasked with monitoring for signs of [[Flood]] infection.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''', ''page 272''</ref> The Dyson sphere's default environmental conditions are suitable for [[Earth]]-based life, but the climate settings could be adjusted for other species' requirements.{{Ref/Reuse|enc}}<ref>'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 271''</ref> The sky inside the shield world appears solid blue; the landscape on the other side of the sphere is not visible as a result of the shield world's enormous scale, unlike on smaller shield installations such as [[Trove]]. However, the concave curvature of the horizon can be detected with a [[telescopic sight]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 380''</ref> The exterior surface of the sphere is dark brown in color and entirely featureless, at least in the area around the only known entrance.{{Ref/Reuse|lessons}}<ref name="glass378">'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 378-379''</ref>

 

While contained in slipspace, access to the shield world could only be obtained through a small portal located inside an [[core room antechamber|antechamber]] in the core of the artificial planet [[Onyx]]. The portal was only active for a limited amount of time after the [[Halo Array]] had been put into standby mode.<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 311''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''chapter 10''</ref> Some time after the portal had been deactivated, the Huragok crew transitioned the shield world back into normal space once they had been assured that there were no longer any threats to the shelter. In the process, the shield world enveloped the three inner planets of the Zeta Doradus system, which now orbit inside of it.{{Ref/Reuse|lessons}} The shield world could be returned to slipspace as a measure of protection against invasion.<ref>'''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'''</ref> When the shield world was returned to its slipspace bubble, it had the side effect of dragging along the orbiting planets.{{Ref/Reuse|L403}}

====Locations====

Sarcophagus is a [[Dyson sphere|Dyson shell]], a massive artificial structure encircling a star. At approximately two [[Wikipedia:Astronomical unit|astronomical units]] or 300 million kilometers in diameter (corresponding roughly to the diameter of [[Earth]]'s orbit), and weighing approximately 1.37 solar masses,{{Ref/Reuse|glass230}} the sphere is by far the largest known megastructure created by the Forerunners. According to [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]]'s calculations, the internal surface area of the sphere is approximately 500 million times the surface area of [[Earth]], or around 255 quadrillion km². Despite its massive size, while inside the artificial planetary shell of [[Onyx]], the structure was contained inside a [[slipspace bubble]] of compressed dimensionality, making its apparent diameter only about 23 centimeters.{{Ref/Reuse|glass230}}

===Ancient history===

The most technologically impressive of all shield worlds encountered in the modern era, Sarcophagus was constructed as part of the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s shield world defensive plan before the [[Forerunner-Flood war]]. This shield installation in particular was designed as a fallout shelter from the [[Halo Array]], a competing strategy advocated by the [[Builder]]s. Several [[slipspace portal]]s on the interior of the structure were linked to major Forerunner worlds, in order to facilitate their evacuation before the Array fired; one such world was [[Kelekos]]. Another led to the planet known as Mackintosh in the same star system which acted as the home port for a Forerunner warship. Sarcophagus is also an installation of Ecumene's [[Overwatch network]].{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet}}

 

Near the end of the [[Onyx Conflict]] on [[2552#November|November 3, 2552]], [[Joyous Exultation Covenant|Covenant]] [[Fleet Master]] [[Voro Nar 'Mantakree]] led [[Joyous Exultation Covenant|his forces]] in an attempt to access the Sharpened Shield. However, [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Kurt Ambrose]] detonated a pair of [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s within the core room antechamber after his comrades had passed through the portal, denying the Covenant access.<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 372''</ref> The human survivors; Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]], [[Senior Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]]; [[Spartan-II]]s [[Linda-058]], [[Kelly-087]], and [[Frederic-104]]; and [[Spartan-III]]s [[Lucy-B091]], [[Tom-B292]], [[Ash-G099]], [[Olivia-G291]], and [[Mark-G313]], were then seemingly trapped within the shield world. Shortly thereafter, the installation's [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]] destroyed the artificial surface of Onyx.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 378''</ref> All that remained in realspace was a 23-centimeter orb around Zeta Doradus.<ref>'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 134''</ref>

When inside the shield world, the human survivors eventually managed to establish contact between the ONI ships outside the sphere, which had already detected the cyclically fluctuating anomaly caused by the slipspace bubble but had no means to access it.{{Ref/Reuse|glass230}} In [[2553#February|February 2553]],<ref name="glass372">'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 372''</ref> the shield world was brought back into normal space by a group of [[Huragok]] that the Forerunners had left behind to maintain the structure. There was a considerable difference in the passage of time between the slipspace bubble and real space; while the survivors inside the sphere had only experienced several days, approximately three months had passed on the outside.

===Postwar===

Once the Sharpened Shield had been brought back into normal space, the ONI team [[Kilo-Five]] entered the sphere. A strip of multi-colored lights activated to guide their dropship to the designated coordinates, where they would land on the surface of the shell. After a momentary blackness and a disorienting sensation for the occupants, they found themselves and their ship inside the [[Garage (Shield World 006)|"garage"]] facility.{{Ref/Reuse|glass378}} Halsey, Mendez and the surviving Spartans were then rescued from the shield world, but the doctor was immediately arrested by [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Serin Osman]] for "committing acts likely to aid the enemy".

Immediately afterward, ONI established a base of operations near the access portal to the sphere,{{Ref/Reuse|glass397}} which was named "Trevelyan" in honor of Kurt-051, whose sacrifice allowed humanity to access it.{{Ref/Reuse|glass372}} ONI's research facility was used to gather information on the vast installation, as well as to obtain usable Forerunner technologies.

By [[2554|March 2554]], the shield world's fledgling research facility had undergone major changes, having become a combined effort between the UNSC and the [[Swords of Sanghelios]]. A settlement known as [[Paxopolis]] had been established in the sphere and was steadily growing, primarily housing researchers and their families. [[Franklin Mendez]], former head instructor for the [[Spartan-II]]s and [[Spartan-III]]s, was appointed as the facility's head of security, alongside [[Sangheili]] [[Kasha 'Hilot]]. A number of [[Spartan Operations|Spartans]] were assigned to the facility's garrison.{{Ref/Reuse|loo}}<ref>'''Halo 4''', [[DEFENDER-class Mjolnir|Defender]] armor description</ref> Shortly after March 30, 2554, Spartan-IIIs [[Lucy-B091]] and [[Tom-B292]] joined the security staff, serving directly under Mendez.{{Ref/Reuse|lessons}} By 2558 the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios had a strong military presence on the shield world which included hundreds of soldiers, combat vehicles and even warships. This military strength was necessary to protect Paxopolis from the constant siege from both Forerunner constructs and dangerous animals, as well as from external threats.{{Ref/Reuse|loo}}

====Created uprising====

Following the establishment of the research facility, numerous discoveries of records and technology were made within the shield world. Significant finds included the [[Halo: Cryptum|Bornstellar Relation]];<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 12''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 230''</ref> the remains of a [[Catalog]] carapace, (designated "Forerunner remains #879"), including the desiccated, malformed corpse within; a fossilized [[Juridical]] accompanied by a [[monitor]] with [[Halo: Silentium|an account]] of the last days of the Forerunner-Flood war;<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''','' Prologue''</ref> and the [[Forerunner personal armor|personal armor]] of a latter-day Forerunner [[Prefect]].<ref name="worthplaying">[http://worthplaying.com/article/2013/7/6/news/89850/ '''Worthplaying:''' '''Halo 4' (X360) Champions Bundle To Add New Maps, Mode, Skins, Armor, Bonus Upgrades - Screens'']</ref> All of these discoveries were studied extensively, with the Bornstellar Relation and the monitor's accounts giving a great deal of insight into Forerunner history and society. Matériel discovered on Trevelyan soon led to new technological developments, such as [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Prefect|a variant]] of [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2)|MJOLNIR (GEN2)]] that ONI's [[Watershed Division]] and local Huragok reverse-engineered from the Prefect's armor.{{Ref/Reuse|worthplaying}}

Initially, one of the Trevelyan site's primary purposes was to experiment on genetically modifying the Sangheili grain known as [[irukan]], with the goal of creating a bioweapon to be unleashed against the Sangheili as a backup plan in the event ONI's strategy to destabilize them failed. To accelerate the growth of the crops, ONI had the facility's resident [[Huragok]] create [[slipspace bubble]]s in which time passed faster than in normal space, much like the dimensional bubble the shield world itself used to inhabit.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''pages 138, 205''</ref> With the advent of the [[Onyx United Research Project]] and the joint UNSC-Sangheili occupation of the sphere, the bioweapon project within the facility would presumably have been discontinued.{{Ref/Reuse|lessons}}

*The "Sharpened Shield", a name used for the shield world in the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]'', was originally a fan-made name used on Halopedia. The name had never been used in any official ''Halo'' media, though it was seemingly based on the line, ''"And bless the Reclaimers that may take refuge behind the sharpened edge of the Shield,"'' from ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''. For more information, see [[Talk:Sarcophagus#Name v2|this discussion]].

*Collectively, the designations "Shield World 006" and "Trevelyan" are a reference to the James Bond film [[Wikipedia:GoldenEye|''GoldenEye'']], in which Alec Trevelyan, the film's antagonist, is a former 00 agent with the code number 006{{citation needed}}.

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

{{Ref/Sources|2}}

[[Category:Shield worlds]]