Shutdown

This article is about the Halo 4 level. For the Halo 4 achievement, see Shutdown (achievement).

Shutdown is the sixth campaign level of Halo 4. Completing the level on any difficulty unlocks the Shutdown achievement. The Explore the Floor achievement is awarded exclusively in this level for tricking or forcing a Hunter to fall to its death.^[1]

Transcript

{Cutscene}

Cortana stands behind one of the Infinity's windows, observing Requiem's sun.

Cortana: "I can give you over forty thousand reasons why that sun isn't real. I know it because the emitter's Rayleigh effect is disproportionate to its suggested size. I know it because its stellar cycle is more symmetrical than that of an actual star. But for all that, I'll never actually know if it looks real...if it feels real."

Cortana hears the sound of a rifle being cocked. She turns to see John-117 readying his MA5D.

Cortana: "Before this is all over, promise me you'll figure out which one of us is the machine."

John looks at her as Lasky walks on deck.

Commander Thomas Lasky: "So what's your plan?"

John-117: Infinity's tracked the Didact's vessel to a docking structure southeast of here. We'll jump ship as Infinity exits the roof."

Lasky: "You know, I was sent down here with orders to prevent you from leaving... In case you had already gone, I took the precaution of ordering a Pelican, outfitted for full combat pursuit."

John turns to hear the Pelican rising up on a platform behind him.

Lasky: "I hope to God you're wrong about that Forerunner, or whatever he is, Chief. But in the event you're not..."

Lasky nods toward the Pelican, then begins to walk away.

Lasky: "And Chief? Good luck. Both of you."

Cortana watches the Commander walks away, and smiles at John.

Cortana: "C'mon, Chief. Take a girl for a ride."

John lowers his rifle and retrieves her from the Terminal.

{Gameplay}

John's HUD tints purple as Cortana speaks, her voice mildly distorted.

Cortana: "The Didact used this Composer to create the Prometheans from ancient humans. If he wants to finish the job, he'll have to find it first. Our best bet to stop him is keep him firmly on Requiem. Let's hope Lasky didn't skimp on that Pelican."

If the Chief stalls:

Cortana: "Get to the Pelican, Chief."

or

Cortana: "If we're going to stop the Didact from getting this Composer, we should find that Pelican ASAP."

or

Cortana: "Infinity's going to leave Requiem any minute. We've got to go."

As the Infinity prepares to leave Requiem, shipwide announcements are periodically made.

System: Stand by for time check. On signal, ship time will be 19 hours 30 minutes. Stand by...mark.

System: A Sigma-level anomaly has been reported in Material Deployment Bay F959.

System: Response crews are en route. Please avoid MDB F959 until further notice.

System: All pre-flight teams - hull pressurization protocols are now in effect. All personnel are ordered to return to Infinity.

System: All non-essential personnel are asked to please restrict interdeck transit until planetary departure is complete.

System: Attention, flight crews - please ensure all craft rated Grade 7 and higher have been secured for transit.

System: Infinity orbital departure status Blue. All active duty personnel must report to duty stations immediately.

System: Attention, all hands - final call. Secure all hulls and prepare for immediate departure. Final call.

Captain Andrew Del Rio (PA): "All hands, this is the Captain. Infinity is preparing to depart Requiem and return to UNSC space. We mourn the fallen comrades we leave behind, but any victory requires sacrifice. Discipline. Most of all, victory requires patience. We have already won the most important battle: we now know the face of the enemy. When we meet them again...they will know ours. Del Rio, out."

In the next room, a suprised Marine salutes the Chief.

Marine #1: "Uh...sir."

A computer terminal next to the Marine can be repeatedly activated, dispensing recordings from [Jeff Steitzer|the Announcer]].

Announcer: "WarGames simulations - offline."

Announcer: "Come back later."

Announcer: "Combat deck information - offline."

Announcer: "Killing Spree postponed!"

Announcer: "Spartan WarGames scoreboard not available during departure."

Announcer: "Return later for more Red vs. Blue carnage!"

John walks out into the hangar bay.

Marine #2: "Spartan on deck...sir!"

Spartan #1: "We respect what you did, Chief."

Two Marines are holding position next to several weapons crates.

Marine #3: "I thought we came here to figure out what happened with that thing on Ivanoff?"

Marine #4: "Yeah, and now we're going to bug out 'cause we got a bloody nose. Stupid."

Marine #3: "FISHDO, man. Keep cashing the check."

In the last room, a Naval officer is manning a computer terminal next to a Marine.

Marine #5: (laughter) "The old man tried tearing 'em a new one. Oh, good luck with that."

Officer #1: "And good luck on the night watch, Private. The "old man" is still your superior officer, and you will refer to him as such. Are we clear?"

Marine #5: "Sir, yes sir!"

Next to them is an interactive console, similar to the last.

System: "We're sorry. Non-essential reporting systems are offline during departure prep. Recreational information and WarGames standings will return after Infinity is underway."

System: "Cargo manifest correction - all pallets bound for Ivanoff Station should be re-stowed until further notice."

System: "Information for all hands regarding Infinity return voyage to Cairo Station, Earth: all personnel are to remain upon Infinity until fully debriefed by their ranking officer. For more information, please contact Lieutenant Commander Phillips, Security Deck 1."

On the hangar floor, a Marine is debating with a Naval officer.

Marine #6: "Look, I fought to get this assignment; I'm just saying-"

Officer #2: "A chain of command is still a chain of command."

Marine #6: "C'mon, who do you think FLEETCOM's going to side with? Don't be naive."

Two SPARTAN-IVs are relaxing behind a Scorpion tank.

Spartan #2: "That's pretty mush the way things are going, ain't it?"

Spartan #3: "This is all kinds of wrong, man."

As John approaches the Pelican, nearby Marines cheer him on.

Marine #7: "Master Chief, sir!"

Marine #8: "Leave some for us, Chief!"

Marine #9: "Watch your back out there."

On the far side of the hangar, two deckhands voiced by Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter are standing next to a forklift and several crates.

O'Brien: "This is a pretty sweet union we're in."

Richter: "It's fantastic."

O'Brien: "Stand near the crates, but don't ever move 'em."

Richter: "Right, right. And if anybody even looks at the crates, that's a violation."

O'Brien: "Oh yeah."

or

O'Brien: "Don't you think rugs would warm this up a little bit?"

Richter: "Absolutely. Absolutely."

O'Brien: "Just like, literally - I'm not talking about wall-to-wall, but like five area rugs."

Richter: "Mm-hmm."

O'Brien: "Or some Oriental rugs. And you know what? Suddenly it's a whole different vibe in here."

Richter: "Right."

or

O'Brien: "I think something's up!"

Richter: "What?"

O'Brien: "I think there's gonna be a war with an alien they awoke from an ancient slumber."

Richter: "Oh...that - that is stupid."

O'Brien: "I know."

Richter: "I mean, I don't know much; I mostly just load crates, but that is stupid."

O'Brien: "You know what? There's one thing my grandpa told me: never awaken an alien from an ancient slumber."

John eventually boards the Pelican. The platform carrying the Pelican begins to lower into the tunnel beneath.

Cortana: "Initiating pre-flight diagnostics. Forward autocannon - check. Lateral rail turrets - check. Main thrusters - check. Auxiliary boosters - check. All right, keying engines...now."

ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH

John-117 heads for the Didact in his Pelican.

Cortana: "It may be a while before we find another ride home. You know that, right?"

John-117: "It'll be okay."

Thhe Pelican boosts forward, screaming out of the tunnel and into the open. The Infinity lifts off and vanish into the clouds. A field of inverted spires hang around Requiem's entrance portal, patrolled by CRS-class light cruisers. The Didact's Cryptum lies directly at the center, surrounded by an orange energy field.

Cortana: "Contact! Didact, dead ahead."

John-117: "How do we get inside those shields?"

Cortana: "Marking two of the larger facilities on your HUD. They're acting as traffic control for resources moving to and from the satellite. If we disrupt their communications, I can forge an override code and convince it to lower those defenses."

Note: the order in which the player enters the spires will produce two radically different sets of dialogue, as well as slight gameplay changes.

If the Chief flies to the left tower:

Cortana: "This tower's directing traffic to the Didact's satellite through a carrier wave generator located somewhere inside."

John's HUD begins to strongly flicker as Cortana's tone turns angrier.

Cortana: "Of course, if Infinity wasn't on their way back to Earth, locating and disabling it would be trivial."

John-117: "We can handle it."

Cortana: "That's hardly the point, is it?"

The Chief enters the main chamber; the generator can be clearly seen across a vast chasm. An anti-gravity gondola is parked nearby.

Cortana: "I've found the carrier wave generator; it's on the opposite end of this chamber. We can use this gondola to cross to the other side. Find the activation switch."

The switch is at the top of the gondola. John activates it; a beam forms from the other side of the room, pulling the gondola toward it.

Cortana: "To take a page out of our old playbook, I'm going to tune your shields to emit an EMP at the same frequency as the communication network. All you'll need to do to trigger it is to make physical contact with the carrier wave generator."

Several Jackal snipers fire on the Chief.

Cortana: "Taking fire, starboard side!"

The gondola suddenly slows down.

John-117: "Why are we stopping?"

Cortana: "Stopping...? They've - they've overridden the gondola controls!"

John-117: "Light up the override on the HUD."

The Chief comes under increasingly heavy fire.

John-117: "Cortana, the override!"

Cortana: "...here!"

The Chief fights through Covenant forces, eventually reaching the switch.

Cortana: "Okay; the lockout has been released, but-"

Promethean Knights suddenly teleport into the area. John fights them off.

Cortana: "Okay, start us back up."

John reactivates the gondola. Two Knights phase in shortly afterwards.

Cortana: "They're not going to make this easy, are they?"

A binary rifle-wielding Knight on the second structure fires at the Chief.

Cortana: "Look out!"

The gondola grinds to a halt.

Cortana: "We've got another squad, moving to override the transport controls. Power this crate back up, we're just about to the carrier wave generator."

Several Knights, supported by Watchers and Crawlers, block the way ahead. The Chief disposes of them, freeing the gondola.

Cortana: "On the platform; that's the carrier wave generator! Enter the carrier field to trigger the suit's EMP."

A Knight Commander phase in to stop John, wielding an incineration cannon. He fails. The Chief enters the energy field.

Cortana: "Give it a second..."

The beam vanishes, depleting the Chief's shields. Half a dozen Watchers phase in, attacking him.

Didact: "The others scatter like embers over sand. And yet the Librarian's champion is unmoved."

The Didact voice oddly echoes, as if he is speaking directly into John's mind."

Cortana: "Well done. All communications from this tower have ceased."

The Watchers are quickly wiped out, allowing the Chief to reactivate the gondola.

Didact: "The Mantle of Responsibility for the galaxy shelters all, human. But only the Forerunners are its masters."

John-117: "Cortana, where's this coming from?"

Cortana: "Where's what coming from?"

John-117: "The Didact's voice."

Cortana: "I'm not picking up anything, Chief."

John-117: "He's there. Keep trying."

The Chief exits the spire and boards his Pelican, heading for the second tower.

Cortana: "Covenant air traffic's increasing. If we don't disable the other tower quickly, reaching the Didact could become exponentially more difficult."

After downing the patrolling Phantoms, the Chief enters the second spire.

Cortana: "Chief, there's a lot more comm traffic passing through this tower than just what's servicing the Didact's satellite. These systems use data attenuators to regulate the flow of communications. Destroying those would drown out the towers' transmissions. The towers' instructions to the Didact's shields would be drowned in noise."

After a short battle with a Watcher and Crawlers, the Chief enters the main chamber.

Cortana: "The tower's attenuator would most likely be housed in a Faraday enclosure. Let's see if we can find its controls around here somewhere..."

A NAV point appears on the Chief's HUD. He proceeds to activate the switch.

Cortana: "Okay, the structure actually contains three central attenuators. We'll have to sever all three connections."

The walls reassemble themselves, forming bridges to the attennuators. More Knights phase in to protect the orbs.

Cortana: "Knight!"

After killing the Knight, the Chief destroys the first attenuator.

Cortana: "Nicely done, Chief. Two more to go."

Didact: "Your actions tread between honor and foolishness."

John-117: "Cortana, are you hearing him?"

Cortana: "No. Didact?"

The Chief proceeds to destroy the second attenuator. Waves of Prometheans attempt to stop his intrusion.

Cortana: "More Knights!"

Advancing despite heavy opposition, the Chief successfully destroy the final attenuator.

Didact: "You are a fool. Even now, your kind tinkers with the Composer in the shadow of the third ring. Children and fire, who disregard the welfare of the galaxy."

Cortana: "Success - the system's overloading. I don't think we'll be having any more trouble from those shields."

The Chief exits the tower after disposing of stragglers, boarding his Pelican once more.

If the Chief flies to the right tower:

Cortana: "Slight complication. There are millions of transmissions passing through this structure, not simply the ones controlling the movement through the satellite's shield."

John-117: "Can you isolate the satellite communications?"

Cortana: "Not quickly, and shutting them all down's not an option, but destroying the system's attenuators should flood the network."

John's HUD begins to strongly flicker as Cortana's tone turns angrier.

Cortana: "Of course, if Infinity wasn't on their way back to Earth, they could overload the attenuators remotely."

John-117: "We'll handle it."

Cortana: "That's hardly the point.

The Chief enters the main chamber.

Cortana: "The attenuators are housed in Faraday enclosures. I bet there's a release around here somewhere..."

John fights off several Watchers and proceeds to a central terminal, which he activates.

Cortana: "Okay, the structure contains three central attenuators. Sever those connections and we should be good."

The walls reassemble themselves, forming bridges to the attennuators. More Knights phase in to protect the orbs.

Cortana: "Knight!"

After killing the Knight, the Chief destroys the first attenuator.

Cortana: "Second attenuator...up ahead."

The Chief proceeds to destroy the second attenuator.

Cortana: "Great, the increased signal traffic is almost entirely blocking out the satellite communications. Only one more target left."

John heads to the last orb. Waves of Prometheans attempt to stop his intrusion.

Cortana: "More Knights!"

Advancing despite heavy opposition, the Chief successfully destroy the final attenuator.

Cortana: "That's it! Transmission buffers are overflowing. Get us to the second tower-"

Didact: "The others scatter like embers over sand. And yet the Librarian's champion is unmoved."

The Didact voice oddly echoes, as if he is speaking directly into John's mind."

John-117: "Cortana, where's this coming from?"

Cortana: "Where's what coming from?

Didact: "The Mantle of Responsibility for the galaxy shelters all, human. But only the Forerunners are its masters."

John-117: "The Didact's voice."

Cortana: "I'm not picking up anything, Chief."

John-117: "He's there. Keep trying."

The Chief exits the spire after disposing of any stragglers. He boards his Pelican, heading for the second tower.

Cortana: "Covenant air traffic's increasing. If we don't disable the other tower quickly, reaching the Didact could become exponentially more difficult."

After downing the patrolling Phantoms, the Chief enters the second spire.

Cortana: "This node's different than the previous tower. The source of the tower communications is a carrier wave generator located somewhere inside. It looks like the carrier wave generator is located at the far end of this chamber. Find us a way across."

The Chief enters the main chamber; the generator can be clearly seen across a vast chasm. A gondola is parked nearby.

Cortana: "This gondola should do the trick. Look for its activation switch."

The switch is at the top of the gondola. John activates it; a beam forms from the other side of the room, pulling the gondola toward it.

Cortana: "To take a page out of our old playbook, I'm going to tune your shields to emit an EMP at the same frequency as the communication network. All you'll need to do to trigger it is to make physical contact with the carrier wave generator."

Several Jackal snipers fire on the Chief. The gondola suddenly slows down.

Cortana: "Covenant! The Didact's given them control of the system overrides. You're going to have to wrestle for it. The controls are up there."

John's HUD flickers and blurs.

John-117: "Where?"

Cortana: "...right, sorry. Waypoint!"

Cortana marks the controls. The Chief fights through Covenant forces, eventually reaching the switch.

Cortana: "We're in business. Back to the gondola."

Promethean Knights suddenly teleport into the area. John fights them off.

Cortana: "Okay, start us back up."

John reactivates the gondola. Two Knights phase in shortly afterwards.

Cortana: "They're not going to make this easy, are they?"

A binary rifle-wielding Knight on the second structure fires at the Chief.

Cortana: "Look out!"

The gondola grinds to a halt.

Cortana: "They're trying to lockout the gondola controls again!"

Didact: "Your actions tread between honor and foolishness."

John-117: "Cortana, are you hearing him?"

Cortana: "No. Didact?"

Several Knights, supported by Watchers and Crawlers, block the way ahead. The Chief disposes of them, freeing the gondola.

Cortana: "The carrier wave generator's on the top of that platform. You only have to enter the field to trigger the EMP."

John walks into the orange beam in the structure. His shields drain to create the EMP."

Cortana: "Give it a second..."

The beam vanishes, depleting the Chief's shields. Half a dozen Watchers phase in, attacking him.

Cortana: "Look out!"

The Watchers are quickly wiped out, allowing the Chief to reactivate the gondola.

Cortana: "We're clear. All communications between the towers and satellite have ceased."

Didact: "You are a fool. Even now, your kind tinkers with the Composer in the shadow of the third ring. Children and fire, who disregard the welfare of the galaxy."

The Chief exits the tower, boarding his Pelican once more.

Didact: "Do you truly believe that your theatrics can prevent my departure? Embrace your sad fate and retain your nobility - I am already beyond you."

Cortana: "He knows what we're trying to do. If we try to get too close to that ship, we're dead. I...I have an idea. Head for that waypoint."

As the Chief approaches Cortana's waypoint, the spire's surface splits into segments, uncovering the entrance.

Cortana: "Those defense spires we keep running into are being controlled from this tower. Get me to the control room and we might be able to reposition them to block the Didact's ship from leaving.

John enters the third spire's interior.

CHANGE OF PLAN

The tunnel leads to a gravity lift, which the Chief proceeds to board.

Didact: "You will relent, Human, or you will perish! All in life is choice. And your day to choose...has come."

John arrives upstairs. Covenant forces occupy the interior, composed of hovering platforms linked by hardlight bridges. Several platforms ahead of him suddenly crumbles.

Cortana: "He's altering the tower!"

John charges ahead, eliminating Covenant forces along the way. A Sangheili Warrior blocks his path, but is quickly dealt with. To his left is a platform occupied by Jackals; here lies the fifth Terminal.

Cortana: "I'm seeing a control facility at the top of the tower. We need to be there yesterday!"

Two Mgalekgolo descends down the gravity lift, forcing the Chief to confront them. John rides up another gravity lift afterwards, arriving at a massive chamber patrolled by Covenant infantry and air units. After wiping out hostile forces with his own Banshee, the Chief enters a doorway on the far side of the chamber and into the control room. Outside its window, the Cryptum hovers ominously.

Cortana: "Quick, let me at the spire controls."

John plugs her into the terminal. Cortana's avatar appears, distorted and flickering.

Cortana: "Tapping into the spires' central net.

The spires move to surround the Cryptum, physically blocking it from launching.

Cortana (rampant): "They're mine. Now to imprison them?!"

The towers begins to fall apart.

John-117: "What are you doing?"

Cortana: "Like he imprisoned his Prometheans? Like Dr. Halsey imprisoned me?!"

Cortana holds her head in agony as the spires plummet into the surface, crushing a Lich in the process. Several more fly towards the Cryptum.

Cortana: "Chief..."

John-117: "His ship's online! They're leaving!"

Cortana: "...I'm sorry, I don't know what-"

Cortana fades into a sphere, flickering between blue and red. John plugs her back into his helmet.

John-117: "Track those Liches. We can go across them to get to the Didact's ship."

John's HUD flickers purple as Cortana speaks.

Cortana: "Wait. Across them?!"

John-117: "Yes."

Cortana: "Um, there...there are several Liches moving in formation towards the Didact's ship. We're only going to have one shot at this."

The control room's floor retracts downward, allowing the Chief outside.

Cortana: "Okay...go!"

John runs off the edge of the platform, aiming for the Liches below.

{Cutscene}

The Mantle's Approach rises from the depths of Requiem.

John spreads out his arms, then tucks himself streamlined to fall as fast as he can. He then spins himself upright and uses his thrusters to slow and land on top of the Lich. He crashes hard into the dropship and slides off the hull; unsheathing his combat knife in the nick of time, he stabs into the plating to stop his descent. With some effort, John climbs back on the Lich.

John-117: "Cortana, what's happening?"

Cortana: "I don't know. Hang on!"

Above them, the Cryptum plummets into the ground. An entry point opens up, allowing the Cryptum access. The ground parts to reveal an enormous Forerunner flagship, surrounded by hundreds of Lich escorts. Requiem's entrance portal opens up, allowing the ship to leave for orbit.

John, still aboard the Lich, observes as the flagship opens a portal into slipspace.

Cortana: "They're jumping into slipspace! Get below deck!"

John-117: "No time."

John activates his thrusters and leaps up, taking cover behind one of the Lich's fins. The flagship and the surrounding Liches raise their shields as they approach the rupture. After all vessels have crossed the event horizon, the portal dissolves.

Cut to black. Level ends.

Trivia

If the player betrays the Marines at the beginning of the level, additional troops will enter the area to kill the player. This makes it the first level since the Pillar of Autumn where more soldiers enter the area to eliminate a betraying player.
The last tower can be entered right from the level's beginning, which is very useful for Legendary playthroughs or speedruns.^[2]
The Announcer's audio log mentions "Red vs. Blue carnage". This is a direct reference to the web series Red vs. Blue. Coincidentally, from Season 8 to 10, it is mentioned on numerous occasions that most of the events in the series take place during combat simulations. It was also mentioned previously that Bungie and [[343 Industries] is interested in making the events of Red vs. Blue a part of the actual Halo universe.
At the beginning of the level, the crocodile-shaped "Greentooth" smiley, symbol of the videogame artists community Polycount, can be found on one of the crates.