Banished: Difference between revisions

{{Main|Second Ark Conflict}}

{{Quote|In the shadows of the Ark lurked a banished legacy of the shattered Covenant: a new opponent fueled not by religious fervor, but by raw lust for power.|[[Curator]]'s update on the Banished.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Mythos|HM|Page=200}}}}

[[UNSC rank structure|Captain]] [[James Cutter]] and Isabel decided to strike at the Banished by attacking a salvage operation, in which a group of Banished led by [[War Chief]]tain [[Decimus]], Atriox's right-hand man, searched for supplies among the wreckage left from the [[Battle of Installation 00|battle]] nearly seven years earlier. The UNSC forces managed to destroy the operation despite orbital support from the [[CAS-class assault carrier|''CAS''-class assault carrier]] ''[[Enduring Conviction]]'', the Banished flagship, although Decimus escaped.{{Ref/Reuse|a new enemy}}

The Banished then went on the offensive, launching an all-out ground assault on Alice's forces and sending several waves of [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshees]] from the ''[[Enduring Conviction]]'' at the ''Spirit of Fire.'' Alice managed to survive, but the ''Spirit of Fire'' was seriously threatened, as several of its deck turrets had been destroyed. Several Banished troops were diverted from the carrier's [[gravity lift]] in an attempt to stop UNSC forces led by Douglas from using a Forerunner [[particle cannon]] to disable the carrier's energy shields. The UNSC was ultimately successful, however, and Jerome and Isabel approached the ship's grav lift, intending to board the vessel and destroy it from the inside out. Their dropship was shot down by Banished anti-aircraft turrets as it approached, but they survived and Alice managed to use [[M400 Kodiak|Kodiak]] artillery vehicles to destroy the Banished defenses to clear a path for them to board. On the ship, Isabel managed to fire the carrier's [[energy projector]] at the Ark's surface. The resulting damage caused swarms of Sentinels to crash themselves into the carrier, bisecting it. Jerome and Isabel were able to land safely on the Ark.

Atriox met with [[Shipmaster]] [[Let 'Volir]], who survived his ship's destruction, on the Ark's surface, to assess the situation. They observed a [[Installation 09|new Halo ring]] rising from the Ark's [[Foundry (location)|Foundry]], which the UNSC intended to disarm before sending it to the [[Soell system]] in the [[Milky Way]] in order to contact the rest of the UNSC. Atriox ordered 'Volir to send his surviving men onto the ring to capture it in a chance for redemption. However, Alice and Douglas led Marines in capturing a portal at the Foundry which the Banished were using to send troops to the ring. The Spartans went through the portal and it was destroyed afterwards to limit the Banished presence on the ring.

The Banished launched a last-ditch assault to stop Anders from disabling the ring's firing systems and planting a distress beacon. However, a stiff UNSC defense did not break, allowing Anders to finish her work. Once this was done, Anders accessed the ring's [[gravity anchor]]s and ejected a portion of the landmass, which was occupied by the Banished, into space. The Halo ring then entered Slipspace after all of the UNSC troops were evacuated. However, Professor Anders was stuck on the ring. Cutter resolved to continue fighting the Banished on the Ark until Anders returned. Meanwhile, although Atriox's forces had been devastated by the combined losses of Decimus, the ''Enduring Conviction'', and the Halo ring, the warlord still commanded an impressive army with which to fight the UNSC.

One month later, [[Colony]], a pair of [[Mgalekgolo]] who command all [[Lekgolo]] forces in the Banished, attempted to launch a Forerunner {{Class|Despair|fighter}} to destroy the ''Spirit of Fire''. This plan was thwarted by [[Sunray 1-1]], a team of UNSC [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] from [[Boomerang Company]].

During the battle, an [[Unggoy]] named [[Yapyap]] the Destroyer [[Yapyap's Rebellion|rebelled]] against the Banished with his subordinates. Many [[Sangheili]] and [[Mgalekgolo]] also defected and joined the rebellion. The [[Throne of Woe]] was established as their new headquarters. Following Yapyap's lead, they intended to locate the fabled [[Golden Methane Hydrate Mines of Sabator]].<ref name="HoG">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/haze-of-glory '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Haze of Glory'']</ref>

After months of battle with the ''Spirit of Fire'', the Banished were still searching for victory against the UNSC crew. They unintentionally released the [[Flood]], few of which had survived the destruction of [[High Charity]] and the faulty firing of the unfinished [[Installation 08]] at the end of the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref>[https://twitter.com/GrimBrotherOne/status/874380206785445888 '''Twitter - Jeff Easterling:''' ''"Guns that are blowing up while firing might not be quite as effective..."'']</ref>  [[Pavium]] and [[Voridus]] were sent to scavenge old Covenant ships. Despite being told to not investigate the rubble of High Charity, Voridus breached the containment field around the wreckage anyway. This unintentionally released the Flood onto the Ark. Despite nearly being overwhelmed, Voridus and some of his forces survived and reunited with Pavium. The two began thinking of a way to fight the Flood. Knowing they were underground, they decided to use the drills to ignite explosive materials in the ground to buy them time.{{Ref/Game|Id=nightmare|HW2|Detail=[[Awakening the Nightmare]]}}

Following the incident, Pavium and Voridus' clan, the [[Clan of the Long Shields|Long Shields]], had lost reputation. Of the Banished's many humans, fifteen were under their command.{{Ref/Novel|Id=DW7B|DW|Chapter=7}} A few defected to the UNSC shortly after the Flood outbreak,{{Ref/Reuse|Id=DW5}} leading Pavium to preemptively kick out the rest in his clan and killing some in the process. Atriox was upset with Pavium's decision as he saw all Banished humans as valuable assets.{{Ref/Reuse|DW6}}

{{Main|Operation: WOLFE}}

[[File:SlipspacePortal intro.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Atriox used the portal on [[Reach]] to return to the [[Milky Way Galaxy]] from the [[Installation 00|Ark]].]]

Although Atriox's stated intention was to return to the Ark with reinforcements, he departed with Escharum and his other forces in an [[intrusion corvette]] to attend to a greater purpose, leaving thousands of Banished troops behind to hold the Ark. With the slipspace portal bound to catch the attention of [[Cortana]], Atriox and Escharum left Castor to escape Reach before a [[Guardian Custode]] arrived to investigate.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Chapter 21|SoR|Chapter=21}}

Utilizing the opportunity presented by the opening of the slipspace portal, [[Castor]] led the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]] to the Ark to fire the [[Halo Array]] where both the UNSC and Banished forces under the command of [[Pavium]] and [[Voridus]] sought to foil them, indirectly aiding the [[Ferret]]s in eliminating the majority of the surviving Keepers. However, in the process, the Banished inadvertently got in the way of the UNSC's plan to finally destroy [[Intrepid Eye]]. The Banished suffered heavy losses in the effort, but both Pavium and Voridus survived while the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} destroyed the installation that the Keepers intended to use to fire the Halo Array and Intrepid Eye along with it. The brothers intended to report to [[Let 'Volir]] that their efforts had delayed the Keepers long enough for the humans to launch their strike.{{Ref/Novel|Id=DW|DW}}

Following the loss of their home planet, Atriox and his Banished arrived at Installation 07 where the Xalanyn species were secretly hidden.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=aud}} In [[2559#December|December 2559]], the Banished [[Battle over Installation 07|ambushed]] the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} above [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 07]] to retrieve [[CTN 0453-0]] in order to defeat the rogue Cortana and her Created empire as well.{{Ref/Level|Game=HI|Level=The Sequence|Quote=Atriox came for you. He attacked the Infinity. We fought. He won.|Quotee=Master Chief}}  

{{Main|Battle over Installation 07}}

Several [[Banished dreadnought]]s attacked the ''Infinity'', sparking a space battle. The dreadnoughts rammed into the UNSC supercarrier, sending it crashing toward Installation 07 in four minutes. The ship was boarded by Atriox and other Banished forces during the attack. He dueled [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] and emerged victorious after tossing the [[Spartan-II]] into space. A few surviving [[UNSC]] forces of the devastated fleet managed to escape to the surface of the ring and would continue to engage the Banished in guerrilla warfare. The Banished would come to occupy the ring and establish themselves on it.  

After Atriox arrived at the surface of Installation 07, he confronted Cortana who had been locked down by CTN 0453-0, a UNSC infiltration program also known as ''the Weapon''. Now a prisoner of Atriox and unwilling to give him the secrets of the ring, Cortana detonated part of the ring to prevent him from controlling it, seemingly killing the Banished warmaster in the process. Atriox was thought to be dead, leaving [[War Chief]] [[Escharum]] in charge of the Banished who were stranded on the ring once it suddenly moved its location.{{Ref/Game|Id=OI09|Halo Infinite|Database|Detail=Outpost Intel 09 - To Andrew Valleros}}

[[File:HINF-Ruleof2.jpg|thumb|left|War Chief Escharum fighting John-117 in the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]].|250px]]

Despite the fact that [[Atriox]] valued Banished [[humans]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=DW6|HDW|Chapter=6}} and made statements denouncing genocide as "barbarism" with "no reward" which allowed the Banished to incorporate [[Jiralhanae|feuding]] [[Sangheili|species]] in the first place,{{Ref/Reuse|Id=ROA4}}{{Ref/Reuse|Id=HuntingParty1}}{{Ref/Reuse|Id=ROA2}} [[Escharum]] decided to go against Atriox's core beliefs that tied the Banished together and allowed his Jiralhanae to kill off many humans in the faction not responsible for the [[Razing of Oth Sonin]].{{Ref/Reuse|Id=TRP20}} While Escharum declared the destruction of humanity,{{Ref/YouTube|Id=RiseOfBanished|hXrMkGXtk0c|Halo|Halo Infinite The Banished Rise}} he still allowed for some Banished humans to remain, notably [[Unidentified Banished human inspector|those]] who had earned enough respect.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=TRP20}} Radically altered, the Banished under Escharum's leadership would expend valuable resources on revenge and his desire for a glorious battle,{{Ref/Level|Hi|Foundation}}{{Ref/Game|HINF|Id=Demon|Audio log (Halo Infinite)#Escharum's Testimony 04|Banished Audio logs|Detail=Escharum's Testimony 04: Demon}} opposed to pragmatism,{{Ref/Reuse|Id=HuntingParty1}} a decision which would ultimately lead his forces stationed around the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|shattered islands]] to ruin with many [[Bloodstars#Banished|high value]] [[Hand of Atriox|leaders]] dead in the ensuing conflict.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=Hi}}

The Harbinger would continue leading the remnants of Escharum's local forces, some Banished Jiralhanae saw his death as martyrdom and proclaimed to fight in his name. In a last ditcheeffort to protect the Harbinger in the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]]'s central chamber, they attempted to [[Battle of the Silent Auditorium|defend her]] against John-117 where they were all killed along with her. After the Harbinger's defeat, other Banished forces remained in control of different parts of the ring.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=aud}}{{clear}}

Unbeknownst to both the Banished and the UNSC, Atriox had survived his apparent destruction by Cortana, and had discovered the location of the [[cylix]]es in which the Forerunners had imprisoned the [[Xalanyn]].{{Ref/Game|Id=Hi|Hi}} Atriox reestablished contact with the Banished, resulting in a newfound resolve and confidence amongst the Banished with his reemergence.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22p453|Enc22|Page=423}} Several Banished affiliated human mercenary groups continued to operate in the [[Streets|crime-ridden streets]] of [[New Mombasa]] on [[Earth]], capitalizing on the city's proximity to Forerunner secrets for Atriox and the Banished.{{Ref/Site|Id=Legendary|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-legendary-endings|SiteName=Canon Fodder: Legendary Ending}}