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{{New Content}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{disambig header|the battle during the [[Human-Promethean War]]|the battle during the [[Human-Covenant War]]|Battle of Earth}}
{{Battle infobox
{{battle
|name=New Phoenix Incident
|name=Battle of Earth
|prev=[[Raid on Ivanoff Station]]
|prev=[[Raid on Ivanoff Station]]
|conc=
|conc=
|next=
|next=[[Battle of Installation 03]]
|date=[[2557|July 2557]]
|image=[[File:H4-ComposerFiringOnPhoenix.jpg|300px]]
|conflict=[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
|date=[[2557#July|July 25, 2557]]<ref name="catalog">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969311_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969311 ''Halo Waypoint'': ''Catalog Interaction - page 14'']</ref> approx. 1240 UTC{{Ref/Note|Id=time|Once Earth comes into view, it can be seen that the Eastern and Central Time Zones of the United States are in sunlight, while the Pacific is in darkness. The sunlight is just cresting at New Phoenix, indicating that it is sunrise in the Mountain Time Zone region. This would occur around 5:40 AM in late July, which corresponds to 12:40 PM UTC.}}
|place=[[Earth]], [[Sol system]]
|place=[[Earth]], [[Sol system]]
|result='''Pyrrhic UNSC victory'''
|result='''UNSC victory'''
*Promethean threat almost completely obliterated from Sol system
*Promethean threat to Sol system neutralized
*Population of New Phoenix wiped out
*Population of [[New Phoenix]] composed (seven million)
|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]
|side1=*{{Icon|UEG}} [[Unified Earth Government|UEG]]
|side2=[[Prometheans]]
**{{Icon|UNSC Post}} [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]]
|commanders1=[[Thomas Lasky|CAPT Thomas Lasky]]
|side2=*{{Icon|Didact}} [[Didact|Didact's]] [[Prometheans#Mechanical Prometheans|Prometheans]]
|commanders2=[[Didact]]
|commanders1=[[Captain (NAVCOM)|CAPT]] [[Thomas Lasky]]
|forces1=[[UNSC Home Fleet]]
|commanders2=[[Ur-Didact]]
*{{UNSCShip|Infinity}}
|forces1=*[[UNSC Home Fleet]]
*Dozens of light escort ships
**{{UNSCShip|Infinity}}
{{Marathon-class Heavy Cruiser}}s
**[[Battle Group Dakota]]
{{Orbital Defense Platform}}s
**Multiple squadrons of strike fighters
*Multiple squadrons of strike fighters
*[[Orbital defense platform]]s
*1 [[F-41 Broadsword]]
**[[MCPO]] [[John-117]]
**AI [[Cortana]]†
|forces2=*''[[Mantle's Approach]]''
|forces2=*''[[Mantle's Approach]]''
*[[Composer]]
*[[Composer]]
Line 26: Line 30:
|casual1='''Military'''
|casual1='''Military'''
*Light casualties, few ships and aircraft destroyed
*Light casualties, few ships and aircraft destroyed
*AI [[Cortana]] killed
*[[Cortana]]
'''Civilian'''
'''Civilian'''
*Millions composed and killed
*Entire population of [[New Phoenix]] composed (seven million)
|casual2='''People'''
|casual2='''Infantry'''
*All Prometheans killed
*All Prometheans killed
'''Material'''
'''Material'''
*''Mantle's Approach'' and Composer destroyed
*''Mantle's Approach'' and Composer destroyed}}
}}
{{Quote|And yet, still you fail.|The Ur-Didact to John-117 on his failure in attempting to prevent him from activating the Composer}}
The '''Battle of Earth''' was a July 2557 engagement during the [[Human-Promethean War]] fought in-close proximity to [[Earth]].
The '''New Phoenix Incident''',{{Ref/SpOps|Id=departure|Departure}} or the '''Fall of New Phoenix''',{{Ref/Comic|Id=HE7|Halo: Escalation|Issue=7}} was a brief engagement fought between the [[United Nations Space Command|United Nations Space Command (UNSC)]] and the [[Ur-Didact]] and his [[Promethean]] forces in close proximity to [[Earth]] on [[2557|July 25, 2557]].{{Ref/Reuse|HE7}}{{Ref/Level|Id=midnight|Halo 4|[[Midnight]]}}


==The Battle==
==Background==
Having retrieved the [[Composer]], the Didact set about attacking Earth in his ship, the ''Mantle's Approach''. However, Master Chief had managed to enter the Didact's ships shields and enter [[Slipspace]] as well. As the ship emerged at Earth, the [[UNSC]] [[Home Fleet]] had mustered for Earth's defense, including the [[UNSC Infinity]]. Master Chief and Cortana proceeded to engage the ship's [[turrets]] and disable a selection of them around the Composer. The UNSC Infinity proceeded to fire upon the Didact's ship and open a hole for the Master Chief's [[Broadsword]] to enter through. However, the ship crashed and Chief and Cortana were forced to make there way to the Composer on foot. Just as they had entered to room where the Didact and the Composer were located, the Didact had managed to start the Composer and open fire upon North America, killing thousands of people in New Phoenix, a major population area. After fighting through large groups of [[Prometheans]], Master Chief was able to get close to the centre structure, before he was ambushed by the Didact. Cortana, however was able to manipulate the [[hard light]] bridge they were standing on to give the Master Chief enough time to activate a [[pulse grenade]] and push it into the Didact's chest. The resulting explosion from the grenade pushed the Didact into the slipspace rupture below him, seemingly killing him. As Master Chief activated the [[Havok]] nuclear weapon, Cortana was able to manipulate the hard light bridge and shield Master Chief from the blast. Unfortunately, the rest of her was killed in the explosion and she only possessed enough energy to protect Chief from the resulting explosion. Master Chief was found by a [[Pelican]] amongst the debris and returned to Earth.
Having retrieved the [[Composer]] from [[Ivanoff Station]], the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] set out to attack Earth in his ship, ''[[Mantle's Approach]]''. The Didact was unaware, however, that [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]], in a [[F-41 Broadsword|Broadsword]] fighter, had managed to breach the ship's shields and make the [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] journey along with it.{{Ref/Level|H4|Level=[[Composer (level)|Composer]]}}
 
==The battle==
[[File:H4-Broadsword-HUD-Autocannon.jpg|250px|thumb|left|John-117 and Cortana inside the Broadsword Fighter assaulting the Didact's ship.]]
As the ship emerged near Earth, the [[UNSC Home Fleet]] was mustered in Earth's defense; including the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, now under the command of [[Thomas Lasky]]. Despite this preparation, the fleet's efforts were rendered useless by the advanced technology of the Didact's ship. Earth's orbital defense grid went into Red Alert, but even the [[orbital defense platform]]s proved ineffective. Hunting for the Composer aboard ''Mantle's Approach'', John-117 and Cortana proceeded to destroy the turrets defending the ship's main weapon, allowing the ''Infinity'' to fire upon the Didact's ship to open a hole for the Master Chief's Broadsword. However, the interior defenses made the passage too narrow for the fighter to pass through and caused it to crash, forcing the Chief and Cortana to carry their [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK]] payload to the Composer on foot.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}}
 
[[File:H4-Infinity-Mantle.jpg|thumb|250px|left|''Infinity'' engaging the ''Mantle's Approach''.]]
As John-117 and Cortana reached the Composer, the Didact activated the device, composing seven million people{{Ref/Reuse|HE7}} in [[New Phoenix]], a major population center in North America. After fighting past significant opposition from the [[Promethean Knight|Prometheans]], the Master Chief was able to approach the center structure, only to be ambushed by the Didact. During the struggle, Cortana was able to manipulate the [[hard light]] bridge on which the Didact stood, trapping him. This bought the Master Chief enough time to activate a [[pulse grenade]] and plant it on the Didact's armor. The resulting explosion knocked the Didact off balance and sent him falling into a slipspace rupture underneath the Composer. As Master Chief activated the HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon, Cortana was able to [[Slipspace translocation|translocate]] the Spartan a safe distance away from the blast. The majority of Cortana's processes remained aboard ''Mantle's Approach'', and were presumably destroyed in the nuclear blast. She maintained herself long enough to bid farewell to the Spartan inside a box of hard light she had generated somewhere outside the immediate blast radius. Master Chief was found by [[Pelican 096|a Pelican]] floating among the debris and was returned to the ''Infinity''.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}}
 
==Aftermath==
Due to uncertainty over the finality of the Didact's defeat, the [[UNSC Security Council]] decided to hide the details of the attack from the public, concealing it as an attack by the [[Covenant remnants]] stopped by the return of humanity's greatest hero, the Master Chief.{{Ref/Comic|Halo: Escalation|Issue=8}} Additionally, the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] quarantined [[New Phoenix]] for a year. Six months later, however, ONI public relations officer [[John Sullivan]] released a statement to the press confirming the Covenant were not responsible for the attack.{{Ref/Reuse|departure}}
[[File:H4 - NewPhoenix Streets.png|The empty streets of New Phoenix in the aftermath of the Didact's attack|thumb|right|200px]]
The UNSC leadership's doubts about the Didact's "death" were not unfounded; the Promethean general had actually survived his fall into the Composer's slipspace rupture. The portal took him to the vicinity of the [[Composer's Abyss]] on [[Installation 03]], where he slaughtered Spartan [[Black Team]]. Allying himself with [[monitor]] [[859 Static Carillon]], the Didact then traveled to the [[Composer's Forge]] through a portal in the Composer's Abyss, intending to acquire new Composers and other instruments for his crusade against humankind. John-117 and [[Blue Team]] were [[Mission to Installation 03|deployed to Gamma Halo]] immediately after the massacre and confronted the Didact in the Composer's Forge.{{Ref/Comic|Halo: Escalation|Issue=9}} Although their confrontation with the Didact proved perilous and nearly fatal, the Spartans eventually managed, with the aid of Static Carillon (who turned on the Didact after the latter broke an agreement between them), to "contain" the Didact as a threat by using five Composers on the Didact himself.{{Ref/Comic|Halo: Escalation|Issue=10}} Despite the Didact's mutations giving him a resistance to the Composer's power, they were unable to stand up to the raw destructive neural physics of five Composers exploding at once, resulting in the Didact being composed himself and his physical death.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi5|Epi|5}}
 
During the [[Requiem Campaign]], the UNSC ''Infinity'' recovered a Forerunner [[Durance]] called the [[Didact's Gift]] from the Covenant. The device, said to contain the "soul" of a [[Promethean Knight]], revealed images of [[New Phoenix]] during the attack, indicating that the consciousnesses of the composed New Phoenix residents had been transferred back to Requiem and converted into new Prometheans. Adding to the mystery, the images also revealed that another [[Requiem slipspace artifacts|Forerunner artifact]] had been present in New Phoenix during the attack.{{Ref/SpOps|Memento Mori}}
 
On [[2558#March|March 24, 2558]], eight months after the battle, the [[city]]'s quarantine was lifted. A "Rebirth" ceremony was held in the city, presided over by [[President of the Unified Earth Government|UEG President]] [[Ruth Charet]].{{Ref/Reuse|HE7}}
 
After being sent to the outer boundaries of the [[Domain]] following his own digitization, the Didact discovered that the humans composed in New Phoenix had ended up in the human rift alongside the [[Ancestors]]. This gave the Ancestors hope that humanity had survived, although they were unable to find out for sure as the composed essences were unable to communicate yet. [[Forthencho]], after learning that the Didact was responsible for this, told the Promethean that it would take centuries for the newcomers to settle and even longer for them to pull themselves together as the ancient humans had done. Having regained his sanity, the Didact felt remorse for what he had done to them.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi22|Epi|22}} The Didact later welcomed the essences of those composed in New Phoenix into the Domain along with the rest of the Forerunners and humans, giving them a home, a place to heal and rest, to commune and explore.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi26|Epi|26}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi27|Epi|27}}
 
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:H4-Concept-Midnight-Composer.jpg|Concept art of the incident for ''[[Halo 4]]''.
File:H4-Infinity-Firing.jpg|''Infinity'' firing her fore weapons.
File:H4-Midnight-Composer-Panorama.jpg|The Composer is used on Earth.
File:HTMCC-H4 John117VsDidact.png|John-117 and the Ur-Didact fighting aboard ''Mantle's Approach''.
File:New Phoenix population composed.jpg|[[Gabriel Thorne]] having a nightmare of New Phoenix's population being composed in ''[[Halo: Escalation]]''.
File:HINF-Poetry4.jpg|A hologram of John-117 and Cortana after the ''Mantle's Approach'''s destruction on [[Installation 07]] in ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.
</gallery>
 
==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 4]]'' {{1st}}
**''[[Spartan Ops]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Halo: Escalation]]''
*''[[Halo: Spartan Strike]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Renegades]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Sunrise on Sanghelios]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Trial of Reckoning]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Meridian Divide]]''
**''[[Meridian Homecoming]]'' {{Mo}}
 
==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}
 
==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}
 
{{Post-Covenant War conflicts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Phoenix}}

Latest revision as of 23:50, November 16, 2024

Previous:

Raid on Ivanoff Station

Next:

Battle of Installation 03

New Phoenix Incident
H4-ComposerFiringOnPhoenix.jpg

Conflict:

Post-Covenant War conflicts

Date:

July 25, 2557[1] approx. 1240 UTC[Note 1]

Location:

Earth, Sol system

Outcome:

UNSC victory

  • Promethean threat to Sol system neutralized
  • Population of New Phoenix composed (seven million)
Details
Belligerents
Commanders

CAPT Thomas Lasky

Ur-Didact

Strength
Casualties

Military

  • Light casualties, few ships and aircraft destroyed
  • Cortana

Civilian

  • Entire population of New Phoenix composed (seven million)

Infantry

  • All Prometheans killed

Material

  • Mantle's Approach and Composer destroyed
 

"And yet, still you fail."
— The Ur-Didact to John-117 on his failure in attempting to prevent him from activating the Composer

The New Phoenix Incident,[2] or the Fall of New Phoenix,[3] was a brief engagement fought between the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the Ur-Didact and his Promethean forces in close proximity to Earth on July 25, 2557.[3][4]

Background[edit]

Having retrieved the Composer from Ivanoff Station, the Didact set out to attack Earth in his ship, Mantle's Approach. The Didact was unaware, however, that John-117 and Cortana, in a Broadsword fighter, had managed to breach the ship's shields and make the slipspace journey along with it.[5]

The battle[edit]

John-117 and Cortana inside the Broadsword Fighter assaulting the Didact's ship.

As the ship emerged near Earth, the UNSC Home Fleet was mustered in Earth's defense; including the UNSC Infinity, now under the command of Thomas Lasky. Despite this preparation, the fleet's efforts were rendered useless by the advanced technology of the Didact's ship. Earth's orbital defense grid went into Red Alert, but even the orbital defense platforms proved ineffective. Hunting for the Composer aboard Mantle's Approach, John-117 and Cortana proceeded to destroy the turrets defending the ship's main weapon, allowing the Infinity to fire upon the Didact's ship to open a hole for the Master Chief's Broadsword. However, the interior defenses made the passage too narrow for the fighter to pass through and caused it to crash, forcing the Chief and Cortana to carry their HAVOK payload to the Composer on foot.[4]

Infinity engaging the Mantle's Approach.

As John-117 and Cortana reached the Composer, the Didact activated the device, composing seven million people[3] in New Phoenix, a major population center in North America. After fighting past significant opposition from the Prometheans, the Master Chief was able to approach the center structure, only to be ambushed by the Didact. During the struggle, Cortana was able to manipulate the hard light bridge on which the Didact stood, trapping him. This bought the Master Chief enough time to activate a pulse grenade and plant it on the Didact's armor. The resulting explosion knocked the Didact off balance and sent him falling into a slipspace rupture underneath the Composer. As Master Chief activated the HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon, Cortana was able to translocate the Spartan a safe distance away from the blast. The majority of Cortana's processes remained aboard Mantle's Approach, and were presumably destroyed in the nuclear blast. She maintained herself long enough to bid farewell to the Spartan inside a box of hard light she had generated somewhere outside the immediate blast radius. Master Chief was found by a Pelican floating among the debris and was returned to the Infinity.[4]

Aftermath[edit]

Due to uncertainty over the finality of the Didact's defeat, the UNSC Security Council decided to hide the details of the attack from the public, concealing it as an attack by the Covenant remnants stopped by the return of humanity's greatest hero, the Master Chief.[6] Additionally, the Office of Naval Intelligence quarantined New Phoenix for a year. Six months later, however, ONI public relations officer John Sullivan released a statement to the press confirming the Covenant were not responsible for the attack.[2]

Streets of New Phoenix as seen from above.
The empty streets of New Phoenix in the aftermath of the Didact's attack

The UNSC leadership's doubts about the Didact's "death" were not unfounded; the Promethean general had actually survived his fall into the Composer's slipspace rupture. The portal took him to the vicinity of the Composer's Abyss on Installation 03, where he slaughtered Spartan Black Team. Allying himself with monitor 859 Static Carillon, the Didact then traveled to the Composer's Forge through a portal in the Composer's Abyss, intending to acquire new Composers and other instruments for his crusade against humankind. John-117 and Blue Team were deployed to Gamma Halo immediately after the massacre and confronted the Didact in the Composer's Forge.[7] Although their confrontation with the Didact proved perilous and nearly fatal, the Spartans eventually managed, with the aid of Static Carillon (who turned on the Didact after the latter broke an agreement between them), to "contain" the Didact as a threat by using five Composers on the Didact himself.[8] Despite the Didact's mutations giving him a resistance to the Composer's power, they were unable to stand up to the raw destructive neural physics of five Composers exploding at once, resulting in the Didact being composed himself and his physical death.[9]

During the Requiem Campaign, the UNSC Infinity recovered a Forerunner Durance called the Didact's Gift from the Covenant. The device, said to contain the "soul" of a Promethean Knight, revealed images of New Phoenix during the attack, indicating that the consciousnesses of the composed New Phoenix residents had been transferred back to Requiem and converted into new Prometheans. Adding to the mystery, the images also revealed that another Forerunner artifact had been present in New Phoenix during the attack.[10]

On March 24, 2558, eight months after the battle, the city's quarantine was lifted. A "Rebirth" ceremony was held in the city, presided over by UEG President Ruth Charet.[3]

After being sent to the outer boundaries of the Domain following his own digitization, the Didact discovered that the humans composed in New Phoenix had ended up in the human rift alongside the Ancestors. This gave the Ancestors hope that humanity had survived, although they were unable to find out for sure as the composed essences were unable to communicate yet. Forthencho, after learning that the Didact was responsible for this, told the Promethean that it would take centuries for the newcomers to settle and even longer for them to pull themselves together as the ancient humans had done. Having regained his sanity, the Didact felt remorse for what he had done to them.[11] The Didact later welcomed the essences of those composed in New Phoenix into the Domain along with the rest of the Forerunners and humans, giving them a home, a place to heal and rest, to commune and explore.[12][13]

Gallery[edit]

List of appearances[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Once Earth comes into view, it can be seen that the Eastern and Central Time Zones of the United States are in sunlight, while the Pacific is in darkness. The sunlight is just cresting at New Phoenix, indicating that it is sunrise in the Mountain Time Zone region. This would occur around 5:40 AM in late July, which corresponds to 12:40 PM UTC.

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo Waypoint: Catalog Interaction - page 14
  2. ^ a b Halo 4 - Spartan Ops, episode Departure
  3. ^ a b c d Halo: Escalation, issue 7
  4. ^ a b c Halo 4, campaign level Midnight
  5. ^ Halo 4, campaign level Composer
  6. ^ Halo: Escalation, issue 8
  7. ^ Halo: Escalation, issue 9
  8. ^ Halo: Escalation, issue 10
  9. ^ Halo: Epitaph, chapter 5
  10. ^ Halo 4 - Spartan Ops, episode Memento Mori
  11. ^ Halo: Epitaph, chapter 22
  12. ^ Halo: Epitaph, chapter 26
  13. ^ Halo: Epitaph, chapter 27