Editing Zeta Halo project

{{Status|Canon}}
{{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}}

==History==
===Background===
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}}

===Project===
{{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}}

At about 0900 hours on [[2555#March|March 8, 2555]], Doctor Mann discovered a countdown sequence in a corridor connected to one of the ring's atmosphere and climate control centers.<ref name="HHITD2">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> He immediately reported this find to the project's manager, [[Bob Casper]], who in turn passed the news along to ONI. Casper also contacted his research counterparts on the other Halo rings being monitored and they discovered identical synchronized countdowns on each. In addition, Henry Lamb was thereafter able to trace a steady pulse which ran straight to the control room. And so while this newfound numerical reverse progression finally achieved one of the project's aims, it also spelled doom for the galaxy, as it indicated the entire Halo Array would fire in just a matter of weeks. Lamb informed Casper that there was no way to intercept and shut down the activation circuits which would trigger the firings. Luther tried a number of things, but any attempt to shut down a single pulse caused it to reroute. At the behest of [[CINCONI]] [[Serin Osman]], Doctor Casper recalled Mann and Lamb to Earth to assist with the investigation of the then-inert [[Portal at Voi|Excession]] in [[East African Protectorate|East]] [[Africa]], as it was determined a team needed to be sent to [[Installation 00]] as soon as possible. Even so, various teams on Zeta Halo remained to work on stopping the countdown.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD2}} In the end, both men from the project joined a joint team of humans and [[Sangheili]] that [[Operation: FAR STORM|traveled]] to the Ark and managed to avert catastrophe.{{Ref/Reuse|HHITD16}} It was on Zeta Halo that individuals in the Milky Way first learned that the countdown had ceased on March 20, which caused out-and-out rejoicing.<ref name="HHITD16">''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'', ''Chapter 16''</ref><ref name="JS3/20/55">[[Jessica Shea]] on Twitter [https://twitter.com/bsangel/status/711590383940075520]</ref>{{Ref/Note|In ''[[Halo 4]]'' [[Thomas Lasky]] tells [[John-117]] that the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} has been involved in locating Halo rings in order to establish permanent bases on them. He then says "We've got locations up and running around Installations 05 and 03." Lasky's failure to mention Installation 07 could be seen as an oversight on his part, could simply mean the ''Infinity'' was involved with setting up bases at those rings but but not at Zeta Halo, or could indicate no orbital constructions were placed near the ring. [[Lisbon Station]] is stationed near Delta Halo and [[Ivanoff Station]] was likewise located in close proximity to Gamma Halo at the time, but no similar station is known that relates to Zeta Halo.}}{{Ref/Note|''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]'', a traveling experience canonically set at some point between [[2554]] and [[2557]], includes an attraction called [[The Ring Experience|"The Ring Experience"]] which involves viewing a [[Wavespace|live]] feed from a [[OQ-45 Honeybee]] drone exploring a [[Halo ring]]. The planet which the ring is shown orbiting discounts the possibility that it could be [[Installation 05|Delta]] or [[Gamma Halo]], and executive producer of The Ring Experience, Jason Ambler, believes it is supposed to be Zeta Halo. Officially the identity of the installation shown is presently undefined by [[343 Industries]], however. If one were to grant that it is [[Installation 07]] on display, this would mean that the Zeta Halo project had begun to use Honeybees to explore the ring and send footage back to [[Earth]] to be viewed by those in attendance at an [[Outpost Discovery]] originally launched in [[2553]]. The Ring Experience also shows a [[Spartan]] and a [[M12 Warthog]] within the footage, indicating the presence of both on the ring. It should also be noted that the canonical dating of ''Outpost Discovery'' may be able to be further narrowed by a display which claims it is believed [[343 Guilty Spark]] was destroyed in [[2552]]. It was in late [[2555]] that the [[UNSC]] first learned of this [[monitor]]'s survival.}}{{Ref/Reuse|HR13}}<ref name="HODTRE">''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]'', [[The Ring Experience]]</ref><ref name="TMOTRE">''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]'', ''The Making of The Ring Experience''</ref>

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>
{{Expand-section}}

==Protocols==
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}}

==Personnel==
{{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}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Infinite]]''
**''[[Season 03: Echoes Within]]''

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:UNSC projects]]