Command Spire

The Command Spire's Observation Platform.

The Command Spire is the Reformation Spire that directs the Reformation in conjunction with the Nexus, a facility directly below. The Command Spire transmits instructions to the other Reformation Spires, including the initialization sequence necessary to fully activate the Spire network, as well as the sequence needed to shutdown the network.

Design

The Command Spire is a more "evolved" version of a Reformation Spire. Unlike the other Reformation Spires, the Command Spire is not directly accessible from the outside. Instead, one must first enter the Nexus through a door at the Spire's base. Once inside the Nexus, one must descend to its central chamber and ride its gravity lift into the Spire above.

Like the other Spires, the Command Spire manufactures raw materials needed to repair the Ring.

History

During the Installation 07 conflict, the Banished and the Harbinger sought to utilize the Reformation to restore the Silent Auditorium, which had been destroyed when Cortana sacrificed herself to stop Atriox from gaining control of Zeta Halo. On May 28, 2560, the Harbinger kidnapped Despondent Pyre and extracted her encephalon. Using the Forerunner routines contained within Despondent Pyre's encephalon, the Harbinger constructed a protocol which she used to summon dozens of Reformation Spires across the fragmented section of Zeta Halo, including the Command Spire. The Spires still required an initialization sequence to become fully activated, so the Harbinger traveled to the Command Spire to personally initiate the Reformation. However, because the protocol she'd used to summon the Spires wasn't entirely correct, the Spire network resisted her attempts to start the Reformation.

Meanwhile, Master Chief John-117 and his AI companion, The Weapon, entered the Reformation Spire nearest to the Conservatory, where they had first encountered the Harbinger. After learning of the Spire's purpose, the Spartan-II ordered the Weapon to shut it down. In response, Zeta Halo's Sub-Monitor, Adjutant Resolution, who was unaware of the Harbinger's true intentions, deemed the pair a threat to the Reformation and attacked them. After the Chief defeated Adjutant Resolution, the Weapon discovered that multiple Spires were being deployed. She also discovered that the Harbinger was attempting to activate the Spire network from a remote location, but that the Spires were resisting the latter's efforts because the protocol used to summon them was only partially correct. The Weapon managed to remove the Spire she and the Chief were standing on from the network, as well as trace the source of the activation attempts to the Command Spire.

After the Spartan Killers Hyperius and Tovarus failed to kill the Master Chief, the Harbinger instructed Escharum to have his forces protect the Command Spire while the Reformation was underway. She also sought to learn more about the Spartan's ally. When the Chief and the Weapon arrived at the Command Spire, they discovered that the Harbinger had altered the Forerunner sequence needed to open the door at its base, making entry impossible. The sabotage forced the Chief and the Weapon to reconstruct a pure version of the sequence by gathering data from a network of nearby Forerunner communication beacons. During this time, the Harbinger spied on the Weapon and determined she could utilize the UNSC AI's routines in conjunction with those from Despondent Pyre's encephalon to break through the Spire network's resistance.

After reconstructing the Forerunner sequence and opening the door, the Weapon determined that in order to get into the Command Spire itself, they would first have to descend into the Nexus below and access its gravity lift. The Chief fought his way to the Nexus's central chamber and restored powered to the lift. When the Weapon tried to activate the lift, the Harbinger sprung a trap and hacked the Weapon, intent on using her AI routines, along with Despondent Pyre's, to break through the Spire network's resistance. The Weapon, in turn, used her link to the Harbinger to try to steal Despondent Pyre's encephalon. Despite the Master Chief's attempt to delete the Weapon - an effort which the Weapon herself stopped - both the Harbinger and the Weapon succeeded in their respective goals. The Weapon reactivated the Nexus's gravity lift and the Chief rode it into the Command Spire.

Upon entering the Command Spire, the Master Chief battled numerous Banished troops, Skimmers, and Aggressor Sentinels as he made his way to the top, eventually reaching the main elevator that would take him to the Spire's Observation Platform. There, he encountered Adjutant Resolution who had survived their initial confrontation. The Sub-Monitor, now equipped with an improved battle chassis, tried to stop the Spartan, but the Chief defeated him again. He then took the elevator to the Observation Platform, where he fought and defeated a trio of Banished Phantoms. The Chief then deployed the Weapon, who used Despondent Pyre's encephalon to shut down all the Spires and end the Reformation.

Unlike the other Spires, the Command Spire did not sink back into the ground upon its deactivation.

Gallery

Concept art

• 

  Concept art of the Command Spire.

• 

  Concept art of a building block being forged within the Command Spire.

Screenshots

• 

  Escharum and the Harbinger prepare to defend the Command Spire.

• 

  The Command Spire's Reformation machinery active.

• 

  Material passing through the active Reformation machinery in the Command Spire.

• 

  A building block being transported through the Command Spire.

• 

  More building blocks being transported through the Command Spire.

• 

  Adjutant Resolution returns and confronts the Chief inside the Command Spire.

List of appearances

• Halo Infinite (First appearance)