Babd Catha Forerunner vessel: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Forerunner|HCW}}

[[File:Babd_catha_forerunner_complex.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A section of the ship visible within the ice caverns]]

{{quote|Commander, you're wondering what your Spartans died for? They died for this.|Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]] to [[Carter-A259]]}}

This '''ship''' of [[Forerunner]] design was embedded within the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]] on [[Reach]] ''circa'' [[97,445 BCE]], with debris from its crash spread out across the [[Eposz]] region.<ref name="bulletin">[https://blogs.halowaypoint.com/en-us/blogs/headlines/posts/the-halo-bulletin-4-16-14 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''The Halo Bulletin: 4.16.14''] (defunct, backup on [https://web.archive.org/web/20141012164920/https://blogs.halowaypoint.com/en-us/blogs/headlines/posts/the-halo-bulletin-4-16-14 Archive.org])</ref> Positioned at a tilted angle, the vessel appeared to be roughly disk-shaped, though its true size was concealed by the glacier in which it was embedded. Parts of the ship were visible in an ice cavern underneath [[SWORD Base]], as well as a nearby mountain range. The interior of the ship housed a [[holography|holographic]] data terminal.<ref name="HR">'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', campaign level ''[[The Package]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Reach''', multiplayer map ''[[Breakpoint]]''</ref>

==History==

The ice cavern housing most of the vessel was home to one of Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]]'s labs and had evidently been under excavation by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] for some time.<ref name="HR"/> By summer [[2552]], ONI had marked a number of artifact sites that seemed to form a trail leading from [[CASTLE Base]], the site of the [[Menachite Forerunner complex]], to the immediate region of SWORD Base, suggesting that the ship was outbound along this trajectory when it crashed.<ref>[[:File:Reach map.png|Halsey's map of Reach]]</ref>

According to Dr. Halsey, the ship held secrets that could turn the tide of the [[Human-Covenant War]] — a "latchkey" discovery that Halsey compared to the inventions of the conical bullet and the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]]. However, when the [[Covenant]] began attacking the facility on [[2552#August|August 29, 2552]], the decryption was only partially complete. Using [[M8 Automated Defense System|Wolf Spider turrets]], the [[Spartan-III]]s of [[NOBLE Team]] were able to hold off the Covenant long enough for Halsey to finish the decryption. The ship, along with SWORD Base, was completely destroyed by an explosive charge.<ref name="HR"/>

Through Cortana, Dr. Halsey was able to retrieve navigation data from the Forerunner ship; this data contributed to the discovery of [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 04]].<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', ''Epilogue'' (''"And because of you, we found Halo, unlocked its secrets..."'')</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo|Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 89'' and ''95''</ref> After the Human-Covenant War, the Starfire VISR was developed to decrypt the data extracted from the ship, but it would take decades before even a fraction of the site's archived secrets were decrypted.<ref>'''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''', ''Starfire VISR description''</ref>

==Trivia==

*The ship was designed by [[Bungie]] environment artist [[Paul Russel]].<ref>[https://picasaweb.google.com/114253662089061571624/HaloReach#5573898160705691906 '''Picasa Web Albums''': Paul Russel > Halo: Reach]</ref>

*In a commentary video for the multiplayer map ''[[Breakpoint]]'', one of the map's designers<!--Who?--> presented the idea that the reason for the structure's tilted angle and unusual placement was a result of an accident with [[Slipspace translocation|teleportation]]. However, he was quick to denounce the canonicity of the idea.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC-Qncg6kV8&feature=player_embedded '''YouTube''': ''Halo: Reach - Quick Look Breakpoint'']</ref>

 

 

{{Forerunner}}

[[Category:Forerunner artifacts]]