Editing Terrence Hood

[[2531#February|Three months later]], during the [[Battle of Arcadia]], Hood was assigned to recover a [[log buoy]] dropped by the ''Spirit of Fire''. However, as the colony was already deemed lost by UNSC command, ''Roman Blue'' was also ordered to withhold from engaging the enemy in combat. However, Hood, enraged by the massive losses the Covenant had already inflicted on humanity, ordered his crew to attack a {{Pattern|Sinaris|heavy destroyer}}. Consequently, the ''Spirit of Fire''{{'}}s log buoy was not recovered. Hood would subsequently view himself as responsible for the ''Spirit of Fire''{{'}}s disappearance.<ref name="HE5">'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 5|Issue #5]]''</ref>

Out of guilt, Hood provided financial support for both Cutter's legitimate family (his apparent widow [[Mary Cutter|Mary]] and [[Cutter's daughter|their daughter]]) and his secret one, supporting [[Daniel Clayton]]'s mother for years.{{Ref/Reuse|HE5}}

====Battle of Earth====

{{main|Battle of Earth}}

In [[2552#October|October 2552]], Hood presided over an awards ceremony aboard ''[[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]]'' recognizing the participants of the [[Battle of Installation 04]]. [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] and [[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Junior Johnson|Avery Johnson]] were awarded the [[Colonial Cross]]; [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]] received her father's posthumous award.

The protracted battle for the planet left the admiral with few ships. By now it was obvious the Covenant were excavating a massive object between the ruins of New Mombasa and the industrial town of [[Voi]], what he and Keyes believed to be "The Ark".<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', level ''[[Tsavo Highway]]''</ref> Commander Keyes proposed a daring offensive to destroy the Forerunner ship, now grounded on the object; Hood gave his approval only after John-117 was recovered.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', level ''[[Crow's Nest]]''</ref> Once the Spartan and [[Thel 'Vadam]] disabled local enemy air defenses, Hood led [[Battle Group Victory]] from the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}}<ref name="mythos">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', p. 117</ref> in a low altitude strike on the dreadnought. The attack failed and the Covenant left through a newly-opened [[Slipspace portal]] generated by the machine that also disabled Hood's ships, prompting him to regroup his forces.<ref>'''Halo 3''', level ''[[The Storm]]''</ref> Moments later, [[Indulgence of Conviction|a Flood-infested Covenant cruiser]] suddenly emerged from Slipspace nearby and crash-landed in Voi; the subsequent Flood invasion was repelled with aid from the pursuing [[Fleet of Retribution]], and a message from [[Cortana]] was retrieved from the crashed cruiser before the Fleet was forced to quarantine the area via [[glassing]].<ref name="floodgate">'''Halo 3''', level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref>

Meeting with [[Shipmaster]] [[Rtas 'Vadum]] aboard the Fleet's flagship, ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'', Hood watched on as the AI warned of an impending attack on Earth by the [[Gravemind]] and a Flood-infested ''[[High Charity]]'', claiming a solution to the parasite lay beyond the portal. The admiral was not confident of the AI's advice given its damaged state and was prepared to fight a conventional battle against the Flood whereas the Shipmaster saw this guaranteed suicide as foolish, opting to lead an expedition through the portal to find Cortana's solution. [[John-117]] and Commander [[Miranda Keyes|Keyes]] agreed with the shipmaster, convincing a weary Hood to spare the ''Dawn'' to accompany the Sangheili. Hood remained on Earth as the combined task force departed for what would become known as the real Ark, [[Installation 00]].{{Ref/Reuse|floodgate}}<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref> The final stand he had expected never came, as ''High Charity'' jumped directly toward the Ark from the vicinity of [[Mars]] one day later.<ref name="Bulletin924">[https://blogs.halowaypoint.com/en-us/blogs/headlines/posts/the-halo-bulletin-9-24-14 '''Halo Waypoint''' - The Halo Bulletin: 9.24.14]</ref>

====New Phoenix Incident====

After UNSC ''Infinity'' arrived at Earth [[2557#July|July 25, 2557]] to aid the UNSC Home Fleet in combating the oncoming attack lead by [[Ur-Didact|the Didact]], the UNSC Security Council learned that Captain [[Andrew Del Rio]] had abandoned John-117 on [[Requiem]] in the process. Hood and most members of the Security Council harshly judged Del Rio's actions at Requiem for leaving the Spartan behind and relieved him of command of ''Infinity''.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/andrew-del-rio '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Andrew Del Rio'']</ref> After John-117 managed to defeat the Didact at the loss of the population of [[New Phoenix]], Admiral Hood and the rest of the UNSC Security Council debriefed John-117 regarding the [[Battle of Requiem]]. The Council discussed the [[New Phoenix Incident]] and how to conceal the existence of the [[Forerunner]] Didact from the public. Unsure of the finality of the Didact's defeat, the Council decided to instead present the public with the story that the attack was carried out by the Covenant. After the debrief, Hood talked privately with John and apologized for the lack of professionalism of some members of the Council. Hood suggested that with his return, John could justifiably be promoted to an officer, perhaps even as high as Admiral. The Master Chief declined the offer. Hood then informed him that one hour prior, FLEETCOM had lost contact with a science team escorted by [[Team Black]] at [[Installation 03]], and that the attackers may have been [[Promethean]]s. On Hood's orders, John was then reunited with [[Blue Team]] and deployed immediately to Gamma Halo.<ref name="he8">'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 8|Issue #8]]''</ref>

==Personality and traits==

Although a sensible individual, Hood also made dangerous decisions during the Human-Covenant War, such as allowing John-117 and Miranda Keyes cross the Portal at Voi with the [[Fleet of Retribution]] even though it could mean the extinction of humanity and the loss of Earth to the Flood, or when he destroyed a Covenant ship on Arcadia instead of retrieving the ''Spirit of Fire''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s black box and discover the fate of his friend, James Cutter, and the rest of its crew. After the disappearance of Cutter, Hood grew more mature inside the UNSC, as well as aiding James' family as he felt shameful for his disappearance.