Tribute

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Tribute is a inner colony world in the Epsilon Eridani system governed by the Unified Earth Government. Tribute is a major human colony with a large population and thriving spaceport traffic. Its strong economy was centered around the planet's large industrial capacity. Its largest populated urbanized metropolis was Casbah City, located in a region of past volcanic activity. Tribute was the homeworld of Daniel Clayton and Spartan Carris-137, who was born on December 15th, 2510 in Irbid.

History

Colonization

Tribute was the second planet to be colonized by the Unified Earth Government in the Epsilon Eridani system, after its sister planet of Reach. The UEG officially records Tribute's colonization as beginning on August 8, 2364 when CAA Casbah arrived and established the initial navigation and communication satellite constellation, though the date of colonial establishment is contested by some. Personnel of CAA Irbid claim that they had landed and begun colonization earlier, on July 24, 2364.

Tribute is one of the Epsilon Eridani system's improbably high number of habitable planets, a fact that was seen as serendipitous to the early colonization efforts. Initial colonization efforts in the system faced significant challenges in marshalling political and economic support. Interest in the system's colonization potential initially focused on Tribute and Circumstance, though it was Reach that would soon capture the attention of UEG planners.

Insurrection

Tribute was one of the major focus points of Operation: TREBUCHET in 2524, where UNSC forces operated against Insurrectionist bomb cells hiding throughout the colony. At least one battalion of Marines were involved in operations on the planet, supported by the UNSC Bum Rush and flights of AV-14 Hornets. Due to the increasing amount of civilian casualties and injuries caused by the Insurrectionists, combat support hospitals were built on Tribute as a form of aid and relief.

One of the missions involved Staff Sergeants Avery Johnson and Nolan Byrne, who led two squads of Marines in a raid on a rebel bomb shop in a town nearby Casbah City. During the raid, it was discovered that the explosives were mixed into the tires of a truck headed for Casbah. The Marines tracked the truck to a Jim Dandy restaurant in the city. Three members of Byrne's team, as well as thirty-eight civilians, were killed in the restaurant when a rebel detonated a bomb during a hostage situation. Byrne was critically injured in the explosion and Johnson was lightly wounded.

Between 2524 and 2525, Captain James Cutter had an extramarital affair with a woman on Tribute. This liaison produced a son, Daniel Clayton.

Human-Covenant War

Main article: Battle of Tribute

During the Fall of Reach, the Covenant also attacked the other colonies in the system, including Tribute. Despite the efforts of UNSC forces, the Covenant eventually gained the upper hand in the Battle of Tribute and began targeting population and industrial centers for orbital bombardment. The UNSC Navy escort fleet suffered 90% losses during the evacuation of civilian refugees. Corporal Taylor "Dutch" Miles witnessed the near-total destruction of the fleet, which instilled in him a thorough respect for the Navy. Jiralhanae forces began to land on the planet in force, though stiff UNSC and civilian resistance left their packs bloodier than their chieftains had anticipated. However, the Covenant gained uncontested control of the skies and Tribute's orbit; there was little the UNSC could do to save the colony.

Several Spartans were deployed to Casbah City to assist the evacuation effort, resulting the in deaths of an entire SPARTAN-III team. The colony remained under siege by the Covenant fleet for some time. During the battle, Team Black was sent to Verge on a mission to destroy a Covenant beacon that was mining helium-3 to provide energy for the fleet blockading Tribute. Although they were successful, Tribute was eventually partially glassed by the Covenant. Ironically, Tribute's "survival" was due to interference from the Covenant's High Prophets of Truth and Regret, who both began to consolidate their loyal forces once Installation 04 was discovered on September 19, 2552. The few remaining Covenant ships at Tribute targeted human forces when able, with little interest, but otherwise simply waited for new orders and began moving orbital wreckage in preparation for a renewed campaign of the glassing of Tribute. However, when the Great Schism began on November 3, 2552, the Jiralhanae and Sangheili vessels then fought each other in orbit over Tribute and across the planet's skies. As the Covenant civil war led to the destruction of most Covenant vessels, Tribute's human survivors could only look on in confusion.

Post-Covenant War

Tribute was not completely razed or glassed by the Covenant during the battle on the planet, allowing humans to continue living on its surface. However, all of its major cities were almost completely destroyed and few industrial sites survived unscathed. Over half of the population was killed in the battle and Earth was unable to spare any immediate assistance with colonies of the Sol system in ruins. Nevertheless, the colony survived, and enough infrastructure remained intact that survivors began rebuilding the ecology and economy. A series of ship graveyards continued to orbit the planet's northern pole; these graveyards served as the testing ground for the MJOLNIR Deadeye variant.

Locations

• Bolvadin
• Casbah City
• Irbid

List of appearances

• Halo: First Strike
  • Tug o' War
• Halo: Contact Harvest (First appearance)
• ONI Candidate Assessment Program V5.02A (Mentioned only)
• Halo 3: ODST (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
  • Blunt Instruments (Mentioned only)
• Halo 4
• Halo: Escalation (Mentioned only)