Editing Zeta Halo project

{{Status|Canon}}

{{disambig header|the UEG initiative|other articles of the same name|Zeta}}

{{Quote|Isolate and contain.|Henry Lamb reiterates one of the project's goals, specifically with regard to Zeta Halo's [[activation index]].}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

[[File:HI E318 HaloRing.png|thumb|350px|Installation 07 is the last remaining ring of the originally twelve-strong Senescent Array.<ref name="HM29">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 29''</ref>]]

The '''Zeta Halo project''' or '''Zeta Halo operation''' was a [[Unified Earth Government]] initiative to study, decommission, and occupy [[Installation 07]], the fourth [[Halo Array|Halo ring]] to be discovered by modern humanity.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD2}}{{Ref/Reuse|HOSFM99}} Overseen by Doctor [[Bob Casper]], it involved both a scientific outpost and a large military presence.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|HOSFM99}} The project was first launched in early [[2555]] and within a few months its researchers discovered a countdown signaling the imminent activation of the entire Halo array.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD2}} In the years which followed the averting of this near-crisis, what was originally only around three hundred researchers grew to include [[UNSC Armed Forces|armed forces]] of the [[United Nations Space Command]].{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}{{Ref/Reuse|HOSFM99}}

While exploring the enormous [[Forerunner]] [[shield world]] [[Sarcophagus]] in late [[2553]] or early [[2554]], respected scientist and expert on Forerunner history and culture, Doctor [[Luther Mann]], discovered records hidden deep within the shield world's vast information pathways.<ref name="HHITD1">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> He labored to translate them for a year before they finally revealed the existence and location of [[Installation 07]] just as [[2555]] was dawning. Doctor Mann's discovery catapulted his academic career, placing him front and center with many scientific publications and organizations. In addition to invitations to lecture at numerous universities, he was summoned to the headquarters of the [[United Nations Space Command]] on [[Earth]] to provide a detailed report of the methods he had used to locate the [[Halo Array|Halo]]. The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] was primarily concerned with quarantining and securing all known Halo installations in order to alleviate the risk they posed to the [[Milky Way galaxy|galaxy]].{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

{{Quote|no=two|q1=Every Halo has a monitor, right? Like [[343 Guilty Spark]] on Alpha Halo, for instance. So why can't we find one here? As much as we've searched this place, we've consistently come up empty. And it hasn't found us, which is even more surprising, given the time we've spent here. It leaves me wondering whether there simply isn't one here, or if it's hiding for some reason.|Henry Lamb|q2=For some reason? I would think the reason would be obvious, at least one of them. Human and Covenant interactions on these installations have not always been the best. If the monitor of this Halo is aware of that, it might be inclined to steer clear of us. I know I would.|Luther Mann|Two researchers speculate regarding the apparent absence of Zeta Halo's monitor.}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

The Office of Naval Intelligence set about conducting research on the vast interior world that composed the inner workings of Zeta Halo shortly after its location was revealed.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} No expense was spared for the project, as there was lots of territory to cover and the risk of something being overlooked was great. In addition to the researchers delivered to the ring, hundreds of automated probes began to be used to scan every canyon, riverbed, and facility. As had been the protocol for other Halo installations, a primary goal of the project was the isolation and containment of the [[activation index]].{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} As such, finding the [[library]] was of great importance. Ideally, all important facilities would be quickly located and secured. Ultimately the Halo's [[control room]] could provide all the necessary information and some of the critical functions the humans sought. Despite much searching, the ring's library, [[control room]] and [[monitor]] were still yet to be located by early March. On [[Installation 04|Alpha]], [[Installation 05|Delta]], and [[Installation 03|Gamma Halo]]s the control room had been the largest uniform structure near the [[phase pulse generator]]s, but these also remained undiscovered. As for the lack of a monitor, [[Henry Lamb]] wondered if perhaps there simply may not be one or if [[117649 Despondent Pyre|it]] might be hiding for some reason. [[Luther Mann]] figured that if it were hiding, one obvious reason for it to do so would be [[Battle of Installation 04|the]] [[Battle of Installation 05|recent]] [[Raid on Installation 08|history]] humanity and the [[Covenant]] shared with the Halo rings. A monitor remaining hidden didn't sound consistent with the historic understanding they had of the [[ancilla]]s, but both men had to admit consistency was by no means mandatory and that it was possible this ring had been made differently for reasons they didn't understand. This early into the ring's exploration it was already apparent that clear and subtle differences distinguished it from the others in the [[Halo Array|array]], after all. Some clear differences on a meta level dealt with the physical infrastructure and material composition of the ring itself, but other far subtler ones involved things like the architectural aesthetics of various building structures and machinery or even the machine language of its distributed systems. Zeta Halo, as a whole, was unlike any other such installation anyone was familiar with. Mann and Lamb theorized that it may have been constructed before all the others, incorporating lessons learned from previous Halo architecture, or that it could have come first and served as a sort of prototype.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} It was not until much later that year that a [[Halo: Primordium|data drop]] recovered from deep space revealed the [[Installation 07#Background|real reasons]] for Installation 07's marked differences.<ref name="HR13">''[[Halo: Renegades]]'', ''Chapter 13''</ref>

[[File:HINF MountainMap.png|thumb|250px|ONI's Ilex Facility was created to study findings from the Zeta Halo project.]]

At some point circa the initiation of the Zeta Halo project, the Office of Naval Intelligence established the [[ONI Ilex Facility|Ilex Facility]], a [[Wikipedia:Black site|black site]] dedicated to the analysis of findings brought back from Installation 07. At this facility, a particular effort was invested in attempting to reverse engineer the ring's architectural structures, as well as its notable construction and [[Reformation|remediation]] techniques. However, in order to replicate these systems, it was found that it would require immense amounts of power and therefore creative solutions on a grand scale.{{Ref/Site|Id=CFEchoes|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-echoes-with-dinh|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Echoes With-Dinh|D=24|M=03|Y=2023}} Ultimately, the base's staff were unable to progress as rapidly in their research as the [[Onyx United Research Project|scientists]] on Sarcophagus were, though they remained hopeful that future discoveries may be able to assist [[human]]ity in [[Terraforming|restoring]] the multitude of [[Human colonies|colony worlds]] [[Glassing|glassed]] by the Covenant during the [[Human-Covenant War]].{{Ref/Site|Id=S3Intel|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/echoes-within-intel|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Halo Infinite - Echoes Within Intel|D=17|M=04|Y=2023|LocalArchive=Halo Infinite Story & Intel}}

 

 

By [[2558|October 2558]], Zeta Halo's caretaker protocols were still impossible to predict or control and both its monitor and library remained elusive.{{Ref/Reuse|HOSFM99}}{{Ref/Note|In [[2014]] the user from [[343 Industries]] answering questions on [[Halo Waypoint]] under the username of [[Catalog]] addressed a question about the status of [[Installation 07]]'s quarantine by indicating that [[Sangheili]] had implemented containment and sterilization protocols there and provided records of these to human naval authorities. The in-universe date on which this statement was oriented was [[2558#March|March 3, 2558]]. It is highly likely that the reference to the ring's quarantine, itself referring to the way it was left at the end of ''[[Halo: Primordium]]'', caused Catalog to mistakenly think the questioner was asking about [[Installation 05]].}} These oddities left many questions yet unanswered as to the function and role of the ring within the larger array. By then, the large contingent occupying Zeta Site had taken on a military character in addition to a scientific one and had constructed facilities on the ring's surface.<ref name="HOSFM99">''[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]'', ''page 99''</ref><ref name="HLSTHA">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYaxRoAf96s&feature=youtu.be '''YouTube''': ''Halo Lore Stream: The Halo Array'']</ref>

 

===Banished===

{{Quote|Our forces [[Battle for Installation 07|occupy]] the ring. Within hours, it will be under our control. [[Humanity]] will burn. Their brazen defiance will be all but a memory.|The Banished state their status on [[Zeta Halo]].}}<ref>''[[Signal Detected. Tag Designation: Foe]]''</ref>

In addition to the standard protocols employed at all Halo installations, ONI handed down an additional mandate for the Zeta Halo project against doing anything that could activate or manipulate any Forerunner technology at the site.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} This mandate was created due to Installation 07's peculiarity and as of early March 2555, nobody had been inclined to disregard it.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

{{Quote|no=three|q1=Do you have any idea how confidential the material that we are working on is?|Luther Mann|q2=Luther, there are at least three hundred people here.|Henry Lamb|q3=People who have received security clearances at the highest levels.|Luther Mann|Doctor Mann berates his engineering associate upon first hearing he had discussed the project with [[Cynthia Diggs|someone]] outside of it.}}{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

The Zeta Halo project was headed by Doctor [[Bob Casper]], its manager.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}} Naturally, Doctor [[Luther Mann]]'s participation was not only welcomed, but insisted upon by top individuals within ONI. By March of 2555 he had joined an expedition on the ring that also included [[Henry Lamb]] of ONI's [[Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group]]. There was no [[human]] more conversant with or qualified to study and if possible, fix, Forerunner technology at the time than Lamb. By this point at least three hundred individuals were exploring different areas of the ring, each looking for something else. All had received security clearances at the highest levels. Specialists in planetary engineering studied biomes which had been [[Reintroduction|seeded]] there from other worlds long ago. Others explored flora; others fauna. Some, such as Doctor Mann, had a particular interest in [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner language]], an understanding of which was indispensable for the effort to unlock Zeta Halo's secrets. The ring was divided into sectors which could be assigned to specific explorers, teams, or archaeological parties. At least some teams at this early date were working out of tents.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD1}}

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