Battle of Installation 05: Difference between revisions

The '''Battle of Installation 05''', also known as the '''Battle of Delta Halo''' or the '''Battle for the Second Ring of the Gods''' among the [[Covenant]],<ref>''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', page 241 (standard size)</ref> was a major engagement between the [[United Nations Space Command]], Covenant, [[Sentinels]], and the [[Flood]] on the [[Forerunner]] ringworld [[Installation 05]], otherwise known as "Delta Halo".

During the [[First Battle of Earth]], the [[Prophet of Regret]] led a small fleet of two [[Assault Carrier]]s and thirteen [[CCS-class Battlecruiser|''CCS''-class Battlecruiser]]s on an expeditionary raid that stumbled upon [[Earth]], the strongest UNSC stronghold planet, as well as the home world for humanity. After substantial ground, air, and space losses, Regret fled in an Assault Carrier over [[New Mombasa]], opening a [[Slipspace]] rift and destroying the city in a devastating Slipspace cataclysm as it initiated an emergency jump, inside atmosphere to Installation 05. How the Covenant obtained the coordinates to Installation 05 is unknown.   

Meanwhile, the ''In Amber Clad'' trailed behind, and after the Assault Carrier moved off, [[Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]], captain of the ''In Amber Clad'', ordered a [[platoon]] of [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]] special forces commandos and [[SPARTAN-117]] to establish a landing zone near a series of ruins and temples on Installation 05 to allow [[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery J. Johnson]] to bring in two flights of [[Pelicans]] and further expand the UNSC presence. The frigate made a quick pass-over of a segment of the ringworld, deploying a dozen [[Human Entry Vehicle]]s. Six survived into the atmosphere of the ring, and only four personnel eventually survived - SPARTAN-117 and three "Helljumpers". However, before they could land in the small ruins, they were detected by the Covenant, and SPARTAN-117 led the commandos in eliminating Covenant [[plasma]] turrets and holding their position against waves of Covenant troops until a Pelican could drop off an [[M12 Warthog LRV]] and a pair of [[Marines]].  

A large contingent of Honor Guards and [[Grunts]] defended the Prophet, but SPARTAN-117 was able to board the Prophet's levitating gravity chair and beat the Prophet to death. During the fray, all the remaining Marines were killed. Shortly thereafter, a Covenant Assault Carrier repositioned over the main temple, and destroyed it with a weaponized gravity beam, but SPARTAN-117 jumped,or fell, into the lake with seconds to spare and was grasped by the tentacles of the [[Gravemind]], a Flood overlord creature, and taken prisoner.

After the death of Regret at the hands of the [[Demon]]. Rtas 'Vadumee was furious at the Prophet of Truth for withdrawing his men, who could have saved Regret. However, Truth deliberately and wrongfully framed the Elites for the death of Regret. The [[Honor Guard]]s of the Covenant were decommissioned, and the Brutes took over as the guardians of the Prophet hierarchy, a move that infuriated the Elites and drove an even deeper rift between the Brutes and the Elites, already mortal enemies.

Meanwhile, further reinforcements arrived: a continual stream of Special Operations Elites were joining into the fray, with the occasional Zealot and Councilor, mostly armed with Energy Swords, [[Covenant Carbine|Carbine]]s, or dual-wielded [[Needler]]s or [[Plasma Rifles]]. While the swords, carbines, needlers, plasma rifles, and even shotguns, [[plasma grenade]]s, or overcharged plasma pistols were all ineffective, Johnson found that with his beam rifle, he could lower Tartarus' shields for a brief amount of time with three successive bursts from his rifle. While the Arbiter's allied Elites were oblivious to this, continually firing with their ineffective firearms even while Tartarus' shields were up and meeting a bloody death at the hands of the gravity hammer while all the while, 343 Guilty Spark announced that the installation was priming to fire, the Arbiter soon developed a tactic. He often would wait for Johnson to lower Tartarus' shields with his beam rifle shots, and then rush in and attack Tartarus while his shields were down.  

It is heavily implied in [[Halo 3|Halo 3]], that the Covenant Seperatists defeated the Brute Fleet and subsquently held High Charity in quarantine. Howeve, this largely failed, due to the Gravemind sending [[Flood ship|a single ship, controlled by the Flood]], to Earth, in the hopes of infecting it and weakening the Elite ships in orbit around the Flood Hive. This was successful and the Gravemind was able to leave Installation 05's space and find th Ark.

In the end, the fates of the Covenant fleets over ''High Charity'' is unknown, although at least one Covenant vessel, the ''Incorruptible'', escaped. 'Matrankee was commended for his actions against the Flood on Installation 05, and was promoted to [[Fleet Master]]. The Flood continued to attempt to escape ''High Charity'' in Covenant starships, and a [[Covenant Seperatist]] fleet led by [[Rtas 'Vadum]] on the ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'' held the line against the Flood. However, the Flood managed to infest at least one Elite-controlled ship, a [[CCS-class Battlecruiser|''CCS''-class Battlecruiser]], and made a [[Slipspace]] jump to [[Earth]] to attempt to infest the human homeworld. The Elite fleet in orbit over ''High Charity'' followed the Flood-controlled cruiser, and when the Flood ship crash-landed on Earth, Rtas 'Vadum and his forces aided the [[UNSC Home Fleet]] in destroying the Flood vessel and terminating the Flood spread across the planet. However, prior to this, ''[[High Charity]]'' had already left its orbit around Installation 05, and according to a scrambled distress signal from [[Cortana]], was already on its way to Earth to enter the [[Portal]].<ref>''[[Halo 3]]'', ''[[Floodgate (Level)]]''</ref>  It was indicated though that all of the other Flood controled ships were destroyed though: upon landing on Earth an Elite informed the Arbiter that the Elite fleet had taken care of all of the Flood controled ships, except for that one which had managed to break through and jump to Earth.  It can be infered that the Flood controled ships were ultimatly all destroyed except the one that jumped to Earth and High Charity which was later destroyed by the Master Chief in the Battle of Instilation 00.

In many ways the battle was the true turning point in the war and in the long term would break the back of the Covenant. The Elites eventually allied themselves with the humans bolstering their fleets and taking the military strategy mind away from the Covenant.