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| {{Era|UNSC|HCW|Post}} | | <div style="background-color: #333333; border: 1px solid #222222; padding: 0px;"><div style="padding:10px; text-align:left; -moz-border-radius: 0.5em;" class="opacity70"><span style="font-family:Sylfaen; color:#ffffff;">{{Era|RLD}} |
| {{References}} | | {{Writer|A Fellow Stalker}} |
| {{Outofdate}} | | {{Feedback|A Fellow Stalker}}{{Corporation_infobox |
| {{Affiliation infobox | | |image= [[File:PMCLogo.png|300px]] |
| |name=United Rebel Front | | |name= Blacklist Private Military Contractors |
| |section1-title=Overview | | |founder= [[Edmond Boucher]] |
| |image= | | |ledby= *Jean-Baptiste Boucher |
| |type=[[Insurrectionist|Rebel organization]] | | *Mattieu Cloutier |
| |founder= | | *Monika Becker |
| |documents= | | |type= Private |
| |head= | | |associations= UNSC Defense Force |
| |executive= | | |legrep= |
| |legislative= | | |parent= |
| |judicial= | | |subsid= *First Earth Strategic |
| |branch= | | *Mutual Aeronautics |
| |main= | | |headquarters= Saint-Étienne, France |
| |anthem= | | |location= Numerous offices across the inner colonies |
| |language= | | |role= Defense contractors |
| |script= | | |products= |
| |religion= | | |founding= November 12th, 2153 |
| |techlevel= | | |incorporated= November 30th, 2162 |
| |notable-title=Notable leaders | | |revenue= {{Increase}}732 billion |
| |notable=*[[Colonel]] [[Robert Watts]] (until 2525)<br/>
| | |divisions= *1st Battalion |
| *[[General]] [[Howard Graves]] (until 2531) | | *2nd Battalion |
| *General [[Harper Garvin]] (by 2526) | | *3rd Battalion |
| |formed=[[2509]]<ref name="mythos55">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 55''</ref> | | *4th Battalion |
| |dissolved= | | |size= |
| |affiliation= | | |employed= 11,600 |
| |hideb=yes
| | |era= *Operation: Trebuchet |
| |hidec=yes | | *[[Human-Covenant War]] |
| | |affiliation= [[United Nations Space Command]] |
| }} | | }} |
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| The '''United Rebel Front''' ('''URF'''), commonly known as '''the Front''',<ref>'''[[Halo: New Blood]]''', ''Preview''</ref> is a prominent faction of [[human]] [[Insurrectionist]]s devoted to complete liberation of [[human colonies]] from the influence of the [[Unified Earth Government]] and the [[United Nations Space Command]], both [[Insurrection|before]] and [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|after]] the [[Human-Covenant War]]. Led by a triumvirate of generals as of [[2531]],<ref name="goo37">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 37'' ("''Howard Graves was one of the three men believed to be in charge of the united rebel front.''")</ref> the United Rebel Front is not a singular group, instead containing many cells across human-controlled space.
| | '''Blacklist Private Military Contractors''' or '''BLPMC''' was a mercenary company in hire of the UNSC. It had the single longest history of any PMC company in the UNSC and the third longest history of any company period. It was noted for its use of advanced technologies and the constant controversies that surrounded the organization, ranging from accusations of war crimes to breaking the [[AI Accords and the NEOnix Incident|AI Accords]]. |
| | ==Early History== |
| | Blacklist was founded on 2153 in Saint-Étienne, France by former French soldier and industrialist, [[Edmond Boucher]]. With large scale war once again becoming prevalent, Boucher hoped to create a new type of PMC company in order to profit from the bloody business. Using nearly all of his savings, he outfitted thirty men with the best weapons and armor that humanity had, and also bought a ship, the ''Dark Troubador'', making BLPMC the first PMC company to own an interstellar naval vessel. |
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| ==History==
| | This came in good use when in 2163, after numerous jobs in various peacekeeping and private security missions had led the BLPMC to expand to 200 men, the BLPMC accompanied UNSC Marines in the Argyre Planitia Campaign. The campaign was the first time that UNSC Marines had fought off Earth, and was also the first time a PMC company had as well, Blacklist playing a small but pivotal part in the conflict. |
| ===Insurrection===
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| [[File:FoR_innies.png|thumb|left|250px|URF combatants in Eridanus Secundus.]]
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| After defecting from the [[UNSC Marine Corps]], Colonel [[Robert Watts]] led the [[Secessionist Union]] and allied cells on [[Eridanus II]] and overthrew the [[Eridanus Government]]. The [[United Nations Space Command]] eventually [[Operation: CHARLEMAGNE|responded]] by harshly putting down the rebellion and eliminating a large percentage of Watts' faction and other allied cells.<ref name="enc44">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''pages 44-45'' (2011)</ref> The surviving insurgents left the [[Eridanus system]] and were reorganized under Watts' control. In the subsequent years, Watts led insurrectionist forces throughout the [[Outer Colonies]] as the [[Insurrection]] spread.<ref name="watts">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/colonel-watts '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Colonel Watts'']</ref> With Watts in command of most of the insurgents,<ref name="dirt109">'''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''', "[[Dirt]]", ''page 109''</ref> the UNSC branded Watts' faction a "united rebel front". Although this term was intended to be a pejorative, the rebels adopted it as a badge of honor and became known as the United Rebel Front.<ref name="watts"/> After regaining enough assets, the URF attempted to retake Eridanus II, but their uprising was anticipated by the UNSC and [[Operation: TREBUCHET]] was launched in response. After a long battle in space and on the planet's surface, the URF pulled back from Eridanus II and retreated into the system's largest [[asteroid]] belt,<ref name="for96">'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''pages 96-98'' (2010)</ref> where the United Rebel Front established a base in one of the asteroids—[[Eridanus Secundus]].<ref name="watts"/> While the URF attempted to rebuild their strength yet again, they were initially forced to rely on [[piracy]] to replenish their supplies.<ref>'''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp]]''', ''Issue #2''</ref>
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| [[File:TFOR Animated Insurrectionists.jpg|thumb|right|250px|URF guards fighting back against the [[SPARTAN-IIs]].]]
| | The UN victory in the war was in doubt up to the point it was announced, and Blacklist was well rewarded for supporting the faction when it could have easily aided another when they had the other hand. Blacklist received exclusive contracts, which were plentiful in the chaos following the war, and soon found itself expanding to a regiment in size. In addition, Blacklist was also given a multitude of UN equipment and given links with several arms producers, one of whom, First Earth Strategic, would eventually be bought by Blacklist. |
| In [[2525]], the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] reported that it had uncovered a breach within [[UNSC Fleet Command]]: there were several spies for the URF within FLEETCOM. They had also discovered that the rebels were led by Colonel Robert Watts and that they had connections to the outside world and were being supplied by outside sources such as the cargo [[freighter]] ''[[Laden]]''.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 76-77''</ref> That year, a group of [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartans]] undertook a covert operation and captured Watts from the very heart of the rebel operations base, the rebel stronghold at Eridanus Secundus, killing many URF soldiers and civilians who were present at the base.
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| ===Human-Covenant War===
| | In 2291, the companies continual expansion through more and more close ties with the UN and the new Unified Earth Government had led to it becoming the second largest PMC organization on Earth, only surpassed by its lead competitor, [[Last Defense Worldwide]]. Blacklist, now lead by Edmond's son, Pierre Boucher, was beginning to stagnate when the Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Engine was finally created. |
| With the outbreak of the war against the Covenant in 2525, various Insurrectionist cells would find themselves cooperating with the UNSC in several engagements where it became practical for both sides to abandon their disputes for the sake of their survival against this new threat.<ref name="FUD">''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''</ref> In 2525, one such cell of the United Rebel Front based on [[Alpha Corvi II]] was confronted by a four-man team of SPARTAN supersoldiers known as [[Blue Team]] when the Covenant [[Battle of Alpha Corvi II|attacked]] the colony in search of Forerunner artifacts. From their primary base at [[Black Reef]] the rebels, commanded by Captain [[Whitaker]] fought a costly ground action against the Covenant when the Spartans encountered the rebels and negotiated an alliance in order to repel the invasion. Despite lingering hostilities, the URF forces supported the Spartans in their mission and killed many Covenant soldiers despite being hopelessly outmanned and outgunned. Despite the success of the operation, Black Reef soon fell to the Covenant and Blue Team was ordered to evacuate. The UNSC High Command however had given no priority to the survival of the rebel forces who had aided the Spartans, and left them to find their own means of escape despite the protests of Blue Team. All United Rebel Front soldiers were eventually killed and the UNSC abandoned the colony.<ref>'''Halo: Collateral Damage''', ''Part 1''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Collateral Damage''', ''Part 2''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Collateral Damage''', ''Part 3''</ref> Another such incident involving cooperation between Spartans and rebel elements would be later discovered by [[Michael Sullivan]], in which the cadets would express confusion at what appeared to be UNSC and insurrectionist personnel working alongside one another.<ref name="FUD" />
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| By [[2531]], the United Rebel Front's operations had been disrupted by [[Blue Team]], who had resumed their campaign against the Insurrectionist faction even as they continued to engage the Covenant. The team disrupted URF operations including ''[[Station Jefferson]]'', the destroyer ''[[Origami]]'', a saboteur cell on Reach, an incident in [[wikipedia:Micronesia|Micronesia]], and a high-explosives manufacturing facility at an unspecified location.<ref name="Onyx36">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 36''</ref> In response, the rebels gathered three stolen [[FENRIS Nuclear Warhead]]s at [[Camp New Hope]] in a way so sloppy that the Office of Naval Intelligence easily noticed, then contacted the UNSC and offered to trade the nukes in exchange for medicine for their people suffering from [[Boren's Syndrome]]. They then set a trap for Blue Team, whom they anticipated would be sent. During [[Operation: SMOKING ACES]], the rebels successfully ambushed [[John-117]], [[Frederic-104]], [[Kelly-087]] and [[Linda-058]] by using an [[antigravity plate]]. However, the rebels were unaware of the presence of a fifth SPARTAN; a new addition to the team, [[Kurt-051]], who had avoided the trap. Kurt was able to free the other members of Blue Team and they then retreated from the camp with the recovered warheads before the camp could launch a proper counterattack. [[General]] [[Howard Graves]] was killed in the process.
| | Pierre, remembering the successes of his father, became very interested in the engine. Pierre invested in several different companies which were developing the engines, one of which, Mutual Aeronautics, would eventually be bought and incorporated into Blacklist, much like First Earth Strategic. |
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| In [[2552]], the Spartans returned to the belt aboard {{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}}-''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' hybrid vessel to make repairs. [[Governor]] [[Jacob Jiles]] was the leader of the rebels at that time. Jiles engaged in a brief "showdown" with UNSC [[Vice Admiral]] [[Danforth Whitcomb]], in which Whitcomb threatened to fire ''Ascendant Justice''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> plasma cannons, while Jiles claimed to aim nuclear weapons at ''Ascendant Justice''. The two soon revealed to one another that all but one of Whitcomb's plasma cannons were nonfunctional and that Jiles' nukes were fake. Suddenly, a [[Covenant]] cruiser that had followed the trail of the vessel appeared in the system. After a short fight, the Covenant ship was destroyed after dealing severe damage to the ''Gettysburg''-''Ascendant Justice''. Several days later, three dozen Covenant vessels appeared in the system, forcing the ''Gettysburg''-''Ascendant Justice'' to retreat. The Covenant then eradicated the base entirely. The Eridanus rebels were massacred in the process.
| | As the years went by and Blacklist continued to expand, they had [[Last Defense Worldwide]] disbanded in the [[Pierre-Vanderfield Trials]] where the Unified Earth Governments was convinced that the opposing PMC company was working with rebellious groups in South America and Africa. The fallout of this case became one of the first major controversies that Blacklist would find itself in, and the unfairness of the trial and the obvious corruption therein was clear even when the case still went on. |
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| ===Post-war resurgence===
| | With Blacklist's dominance in the private military market solidified, the company continued pushing through the ages, never leaving the hands of the Boucher family. The company would be disbanded twice, be tried for thirty seven different major crimes and be accused of numerous others. Over the course of its long history, they would buy several arms manufacturing companies, folding them all into Mutual Aeronautics and First Earth Strategic to produce supplies solely for Blacklist and select investors. |
| Even after the [[Human-Covenant War]], the United Rebel Front was still a formidable force. After the war, they had multiple planets under their control, [[Talitsa]] and [[Terceira]] being a known two. [[SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IVs]] were sent to these two planets, to conduct raids, with widespread use of the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Wetwork]] in the former,<ref>'''Halo 4''', Wetwork Armor description</ref> and to help reclaim the latter.<ref>'''Halo 4''', Oceanic Armor description</ref>
| | ==Operation Trebuchet== |
| | | As of 2525, they are no longer the most powerful PMC organization in UNSC space, but they are still one of the largest and the current chairman, Jean-Baptiste Boucher, has been working tirelessly to bring the company back to its former glory. |
| In [[2554]], the United Rebel Front launched an invasion of the newly resettled colony of [[Draco III]], occupying the capital city of [[New Albany]] and establishing themselves in the capital building. The UNSC immediately responded to the threat, deploying [[ODST]]s and a team of [[SPARTAN-IV]]s led by [[Sarah Palmer]] to eliminate the threat. These URF forces, led by Captain [[Ingridson]] attempted to defend their hold on the city, but were swiftly routed by the UNSC who regained control of the city as the surviving URF forces made a last stand in the capital building. One of these ODST squads, [[Alpha-Nine]] attempted to corner and overpower Ingridson's forces but one of their members, [[The Rookie|"the Rookie"]], was taken hostage during the engagement. In their final stand against the ODSTs and Spartan forces, the URF soldiers were wiped out and Ingridson neutralized, but not before executing the Rookie during Alpha-Nine's attempt to save him. The entire URF force was killed or captured, effectively restoring order to Draco III.
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| In [[2555|August 2555]], the United Rebel Front had managed to capture the ONI [[Huragok]] now known as [[Quick to Adjust|Vergil]] and his human handler, [[Sadie Endesha]] and held them in one of their strongholds on [[Talitsa]]. In response, the UNSC sent [[SPARTAN-IV]]s [[Edward Buck]], [[Michael Crespo]] and [[Kojo Agu]] to rescue them, but Crespo had been colluding with the URF and helped set a trap for the rest of his team. Even though Buck and Agu were captured by a large number of rebels led by [[Schein|Dr. Schein]], they ultimately managed to fight off the rebels and the rogue Spartan and successfully rescued Sadie and Vergil.<ref>'''Halo: New Blood''', Chapter 17</ref>
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| ===The Created===
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| In [[2558|October 2558]], after the [[Guardian Custode|Guardians]]<nowiki>'</nowiki> resurgence and led by [[Cortana]], the [[Created]] subjugated some URF sites, including Talitsa and [[Cassidy III]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]''', Chapter 14</ref>
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| == Military assets ==
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| The United Rebel Front has a highly organized intelligence division and a far-flung network of facilities, comprised of a network of different rebel movements, such as the Eridanus rebels. They have commanded facilities across human-controlled space, including Eridanus Secundus, Camp New Hope on planet [[Victoria]], and ''[[Station Jefferson]]'', which was located in the asteroid belt of Eridanus. They also had a high explosives manufacturing facility, operations of an unknown kind on [[wikipedia:Micronesia|Micronesia]], and a saboteur cell on [[Reach]]. All these operations were shut down by the Spartans of Blue Team.<ref name="Onyx36"/>
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| Camp New Hope had an impressive security system, even by Spartan standards: motion and seismic sensors, a triple layering of guards, trained dogs and overhead [[MAKO drone]]s.<ref name="Onyx31">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 31''</ref>
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| They also have a number of arms, ranging from military grade MAKO drones and [[FENRIS nuclear warhead]]s to [[Archer missile]]s and [[.30 caliber light machine gun|.30 caliber ''"Confetti Maker"'' machine guns]].<ref name="Onyx31"/> They used {{Class|Parabola|freighter|freighters}} such as the ''[[Laden]]'', to ship diverse equipment, resources, and weapons from planet systems to their base. They even managed to acquire the [[UNSC Destroyer|destroyer]] ''Origami''.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 37''</ref> Graves' rebel cell also made use of a jury-rigged [[Warthog armored personnel carrier]].<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 34''</ref>
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| In [[2526]], [[Lyrenne Castilla]] estimated that the total fleet of the URF's members was made up of several dozen outdated [[frigate]]s and a few hundred [[corvette]]s at best. This presumably would have also included her flagship ''[[Bellicose]]''.<ref name="SSC6">'''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]''', ''Chapter Six'', ''page 93''</ref>
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| They possess some "old technology that never panned out", such as the [[antigravity plate]] Graves' cell used to fool the SPARTANs' armor systems into thinking they were in a 10 G environment, temporarily giving them decompression sickness, otherwise known as "the bends."<ref name="Onyx36"/>
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| The Eridanus-based rebels utilized numerous vessels, including upgraded [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelican]] dropships, {{Class|Mako|corvette|corvettes}}, and {{Class|Chiroptera|stealth vessel|stealth vessels}} as an improvised fleet. They had at least a hundred such vessels in their fleet at any time. Two {{Class|Laden|freighter|freighters}} were also used as part of their improvised fleet, being used to tow the damaged hybrid vessel ''Gettysburg''/''Ascendant Justice'' back to Eridanus Secundus. They received almost everything in their armament and ships from pirating other vessels, including both civilian merchant vessels and UNSC warships.<ref name="fs254">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 254''</ref>
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| Their ability to infiltrate the UNSC ranks caused the UNSC to keep a small orbital force in the system to respond to rebel attacks. Another reason for their success was their location, which was extremely difficult and time-consuming to discover and was easily defended against even medium-scale assaults.
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| ==List of affiliated rebel cells==
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| *[[Biko Independence Army]]<ref name="SSC6"/>
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| *[[Freedom League]]<ref name="SSC6"/>
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| *[[Gao Liberation Force]]<ref name="SSC6"/>
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| *[[People's Occupation]]<ref name="SSC6"/>
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| *[[Secessionist Union]]
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| ==Production note==
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| The usage of the term "United Rebel Front" in official media results from a widespread misinterpretation originally appearing on Halopedia. The term was never used as a proper name in official material before its erroneous adoption by this wiki; this is because article titles on Halopedia were once capitalized as if they were proper nouns (''e.g.'' "UNSC Carrier"). This misunderstanding was carried over to the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]'', a sizable portion of which was derived from this wiki. For example, the rebel destroyer ''Origami'' is referred to as the "URF ''Origami''"; Halopedia had formerly titled the article as such, but the ship is only referred to as the ''Origami'' in the original source.
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| The origin of this misconception is a singular reference to a "united rebel front" in ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'' (p. 37), in which the lowercase lettering indicates the term is simply a descriptor used to refer to the nature of the Insurrectionists in question as opposed to being a proper name of a group. Years later, [[Colonel Robert Watts]]' biography on [[Halo Waypoint]] clarified that although the name began as a simple descriptor (as used in ''Ghosts of Onyx'') it was adopted by many insurgents as a badge of honor, hence the treatment of "United Rebel Front" as a proper name in newer media.<ref name="watts"/>
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| ==List of appearances==
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| *''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
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| *''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
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| **''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
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| *''[[Halo 4]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: New Blood]]''
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| *''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''
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| *''[[Halo Mythos]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Collateral Damage]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]''
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| ==Sources==
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| {{Ref/Sources}}
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| {{Insurrection}}
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| {{Organizations}}
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| [[Category:Rebel organizations]]
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