Editing Sarcophagus

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Megastructure infobox

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

|destroyed=

|diameter=Approx. 2 [[Wikipedia:Astronomical unit|AU]] (300,000,000 km)

|surface width=Approx. 255 quadrillion km²

|surface width-title=Surface area

}}

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}}

==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}}

[[File:HM EscapeFromOnyx3.png|thumb|250px|The survivors exploring the shield world.]]

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.

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".

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}}

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