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{{Era|HW}}

{{Ratings}}

|image=[[File:Halowars shieldworld official.jpg|300px]]

|Location=

|Monitor=[[Unnamed Forerunner AI]]

|Status=Destroyed

|Date of Construction=During the [[Forerunner-Flood War]]

|Date of Destruction=[[2531#February|February 25, 2531]]

|Diameter=Approx. 2900 kilometers<ref group="note">According to a hologram of the Shield World in the final cinematic of Halo Wars, the distance from an exit portal to the sun (i.e. the Shield World's interior radius) in the center is 1,437,572.31 meters (1437.6 km). This would make the diameter of the installation to be approximately 2875 kilometers.</ref>

This '''Flood-controlled Shield World''' was a [[Forerunner]] [[Shield World|Shield Installation]] deep in uncharted [[Milky Way Galaxy|space]]. A variation upon the Shield World concept, originally intended to protect sentient lifeforms from the effects of the [[Halo Array]] and the [[Flood]], it also served as a [[The Apex|port]] for a fleet of [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|Forerunner Ships]]. Despite the fact that the Shield Worlds were created as a haven from the Array and the Flood, the external surface was heavily infested with Flood biomass, with forms of various types freely roaming across the surface. [[Sentinel]]s were a rarity on the outside, but this changed within the center, where the many Forerunner constructs worked to prevent the Flood from claiming the interior as well, without much effect.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''' levels ''[[Beachhead (Halo Wars Level)|Beachhead]]'', ''{{Levelname|Reactor}}'' and ''{{Levelname|Escape}}''</ref>

During the [[Human-Covenant War]], the Shield World was discovered by the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] during the [[First Battle of Arcadia]], and subsequently destroyed in the [[Battle of the Flood-controlled Shield World]] in [[2531#February|February 2531]].

[[File:BeachheadOpening.png|250px|thumb|right|The Shield World's inner surface.]]

This [[Shield World]]'s main structure consisted of the outer surface, the superstructure and tunnel system inside the crust, and the inner [[Micro Dyson Sphere]], along with it's own miniaturized [[Astroengineering #Stars|artificial sun]]. The outer surface, as well as parts of the superstructure, were largely infested with the [[Flood]]. Some of the Flood even reached to the interior of the world through openings like [[Flood Vent|vents]], but because of the larger numbers of [[Sentinels]], never managed to fully infest it.

The ecosystems of the interior and the exterior were radically different, the outer surface being a rocky wasteland with large bodies of water and Flood biomass in some areas. The atmosphere was thick with dust, which may have been a defensive measure to disable starships and prevent them from carrying the Flood off-world.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars Timeline Events]]'''</ref> Parts of the superstructure were also seen on the surface, with chasms reaching deep down into the interior.

The inner Dyson Sphere was completely terraformed and full of plant and animal life, much like the [[Halo Array|Halo installations]] or [[The Ark]]. It also featured different types of Forerunner structures, which in many places were more prominent on the surface than on other Forerunner installations. In the center of the Micro Dyson Sphere there was a miniaturized [[Astroengineering #Stars|artificial star]]. The inner surface had latitudinal lines of structures encircling the sphere. Like many other Forerunner installations, this Shield World possessed a [[Teleportation Grid]].

[[File:HW_FR_Architecture2_S-1-.jpg|thumb|250px|The Shield World's tunnel system.]]

The surface of the Shield World had multiple access portals, which could be used to gain access to the Shield World. Most of them were likely hidden, for example covered under large bodies of water, such as the one the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} used to enter the Shield World. The access portals were seemingly automated, and controlled by [[Unnamed Forerunner AI|an AI]].

Within the tunnels inside the superstructure, there was a cleansing system, which prevented the Flood from entering the interior. This quarantine system consisted of several "Cleansing Rings", which created energy fields within their diameter, which would destroy any Flood biomass on a passing ship.

On the interior, these portals had six interlocks that needed to be opened in order to unlock the access to the tunnel, and they could only be operated by a [[Reclaimer|human]].

=== The Apex ===

{{Main|The Apex}}

The Apex site was an installation comprised of a control center on a platform high above the inner surface of the Shield World, and numerous docking towers containing a fleet of Forerunner Ships. The control center was accessible from the ground by a teleporter referred to as Apex Base site, which was on top of a plateau with a series of ramps leading up to it.  

[[Image:ShieldWorldOuterSurface.png|thumb|right|250px|The Spirit of Fire above the outer surface.]]

{{quote|This world shall be the [[The Apex|birthplace]] for an [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|invasion fleet]] beyond imagining!|[[Prophet of Regret]]}}

The Shield World was discovered by the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] in [[2531]] using information from [[Arcadia Forerunner Ruins|a Forerunner complex]] on the planet [[Arcadia (Planet)|Arcadia]]. After recovering the information, the [[Arbiter (Title)|Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]] and the [[Prophet of Regret]] traveled to the Shield World, to discover the Apex site and the dormant Forerunner fleet. With the [[Human-Covenant War]] ongoing, the Covenant hoped to use the Shield World's stored warships to crush the [[UNSC]] quickly, rather than wage the protracted war that would characterize the Human-Covenant War. However, they soon discovered that while they were able to access the installation, they weren't able to reactivate the fleet.<ref>'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''"The Halo Wars story retold"'' series</ref>

After the Covenant had observed professor [[Ellen Anders]] activating the [[Relic (Structure)|Forerunner relic]] on [[Harvest]], the Prophet of Regret ordered the Arbiter to go to Arcadia and capture the human scientist, as she seemed to have unusual knowledge about the [[Forerunners]]. The Arbiter went back to Arcadia, captured Anders and brought her to the Shield World.

[[File:ShieldWorldDestruction2.png|thumb|200px|Destruction of the Shield World.]]

{{Main|Battle of the Flood-controlled Shield World}}

The ''Spirit of Fire'' followed the Covenant in close pursuit, tracking Anders' transponder signal. When the ''Spirit of Fire'' arrived to the Shield World, a new horrific enemy was discovered: [[the Flood]]. Some time later, when the ''Spirit'''s shipboard [[AI]] [[Serina]] scanned the planet for Anders' signal, which seemed to be originating from an ocean, the ship was suddenly pulled into the Shield World's internal docking mechanism. After passing the tunnels inside the installation's superstructure, the ''Spirit of Fire'' emerged into the internal [[Micro Dyson Sphere]].

{{quote|Well, put simply, Captain, our reactor will cause the sun to go supernova, leaving nothing here but dust.|[[Ellen Anders]] to captain [[James Cutter]].}}

Some time later, the Arbiter used Anders, who had been kept prisoner within [[the Apex]], to activate the fleet of Forerunner ships. However, as the awestruck Elites watched the fleet's activation, Anders managed to escape via the installation's [[Teleportation Grid]] and regroup with the other humans. She quickly came up with a plan to prevent the Covenant from using the Forerunner fleet: They overloaded the ''Spirit of Fire'''s [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] to create a chain reaction in the [[Astroengineering#Stars|artificial sun]] in the center of the Shield World, sending it to [[supernova]] state and destroying it from within. The ''Spirit of Fire'' was able to escape the Shield World's destruction.

==Comparison with the Onyx Installation==

Unlike [[Onyx]], which was made of trillions of [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]], upon which a planetary surface had been formed, and a massive [[Micro Dyson Sphere|Dyson Sphere]] residing in a compressed [[Slipspace]] bubble in the center of the construct, this [[Shield World]] was far simpler. This Shield World was comprised of a hollow structure with planetary surfaces on the interior and exterior. The internal Micro Dyson Sphere was somewhat similar to Onyx's Dyson Sphere, being terraformed and possessing an artificial sun, though it and the entire structure were on a far smaller scale. However, unlike Onyx, it was apparently not designed only as a shelter from the [[Halo Array]], but also as some sort of harbor, shipyard, or hiding place for ships, as it contained [[The Apex]]. While this Shield World was approximately 2900 kilometers in diameter, Onyx's internal Dyson Sphere's diameter is approximately 150 million kilometers.<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 380''</ref>

This Shield World had dozens of [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|Forerunner ships]] stored within it. It is unknown whether the same is true for the Onyx Installation.

*In the cutscenes that show the inner surface of the Shield World, lines of [[Forerunner]] structures can be seen across the land. These could possibly be Forerunner cities.

*While in the pre-rendered cinematics the lines on the inner surface of the Shield World are latitudinal, they are longitudinal in-game in the level [[Repairs]]. The appearance of the surface is also different. However, this is probably just due to in-game graphical limitations.

*Multiple new variants of [[Sentinels]] are seen on this Shield World, such as [[Super Sentinel]]s and [[Sentinel Protector]]s.

*Wrecks of [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|Forerunner Ships]] can be seen on the outer surface of the Shield World, indicating a possible battle between the Forerunners and the [[Flood]].

*It is unknown if some of the smaller structures present on the shield world, including miniature [[Sentinel Constructor Factory|sentinel production facilities]] referred to as [[Sentinel Shop]]s, small [[Forerunner Bonus Reactor|reactors]], as well as [[Forerunner Supply Elevator]]s, are part of the canon or simply gameplay elements in ''[[Halo Wars]]''.

File:Shieldogram.png|A [[Holography|hologram]] of the Shield World.

File:SofInShieldWorld.png|{{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} inside the Shield World's superstructure.

File:ShieldW_Surface_Closeup.png| The [[Flood]]-infested outer surface of the Shield World.

File:HW25.png|The Shield World's internal star, before going supernova.

File:Shield World Portal.jpg|The Shield World Portal that the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} must exit through.

File:Halo wars big panorama by JJasso-1-.jpg|Panorama of the outer surface.

File:Halo_Wars_shield_world_Matte_by_JJasso-1-.jpg|Surface panorama.

File:Fascination.jpg|[[The Apex]] control center.

==Notes==

<references/>

 

{{Forerunner2}}

[[Category:The Forerunner]]

[[Category:Places]]