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The loyalists[Note 1] are a group of Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar soldiers that were assigned as part of the crew of the Keyship Anodyne Spirit during the final weeks of 2552. Following the Covenant empire's fall during the Battle of Installation 00, these soldiers remained inside the Keyship to defend it from intruders, and remained vigilant in their duties and beliefs long after the death of the Prophet of Truth and the firing of Installation 08 which they managed to survive.[1] Led by the Prelate Dhas Bhasvod, they seek to continue the mission of the Covenant, although in secret Bhasvod's goal is to restore the San'Shyuum to power in the galaxy once again.[3]
History
Battle of the Ark
During the final months of the Human-Covenant War, the Prophet of Truth commandeered the Anodyne Spirit to escape the Fall of High Charity and head to The Ark to begin the process of firing the Halo Array. When his Keyship landed in the Mahsko region, Truth and his entourage departed for the installation's Citadel, while a charge of Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar soldiers were left with the keyship to fend off potential attackers.[1] During the battle, the loyalists deployed half of their forces to try to draw the humans away from the Prophet of Truth.[4]
At the battle's conclusion, the Covenant was formally defeated and Installation 08 fired, severely damaging the Ark in the process, yet the Keyship managed to protect these Covenant troops from the ring's pulse[1] although they lost those who had exited the ship in an attempt to draw the enemy away from their leader.[4] Stranded on the Ark well outside the Milky Way, the soldiers were able to survive for the ensuing seven years thanks to the keyship's ample supply reserves, seemingly in hiding from the exploration and discovery of the Ark by UNSC forces.[1]
A Long Wait
For a hundred cycles the loyalists waited, believing that the firing of the Halo meant that the Prophet of Truth had succeeded and they would thus be called to Transcendence at any moment. Eventually, their elation gave way to despair as they realized that Truth had failed and in the process, damaged the Ark seemingly beyond repair. Many began to fear that they would perish on a dead world far removed from their home stars and for nothing but the vanity of a dead Heirarch. Unwilling to let that stand, Prelate Dhas Bhasvod culled over the course of twenty cycles as many heretics as he had culled for Truth during the Heresy of the Chosen.
Eventually, as their despair seemed ready to destroy them, a scout discovered that the Ark was being repaired and that Anodyne Spirit was simply so far removed from where the repairs had begun that they had not realized that it was happening.[4]
Second Ark Conflict
- Main article: Second Ark Conflict
During the later months of 2559, a force of Banished soldiers led by Chieftain Minas were deployed to the Keyship to retrieve several shards of a slipspace flake, intended to be used to re-connect the Banished forces with their allies in the Milky Way.[1]
While exploring the ship, the Banished troops were ambushed by the surviving Covenant forces aboard the keyship - who no one had expected to still be alive. Despite using their old Covenant-era equipment, the Covenant troops were able to put up heavy resistance against the Banished troops and arranged several successful ambushes. Later on, they deployed six Phantom dropships to support their attack, proving to outnumber the Banished raiding party considerably. Nonetheless, the Banished force's Skewers proved capable anti-air weapons in the battle, and the force was ultimately able to escape with the shards retrieved - though at considerably cost to their own numbers. The loyalist forces remained inside the keyship a potential threat to future operations in the region.[1]
Under the leadership of Prelate Dhas Bhasvod, the Covenant loyalists ally with the Keepers of the One Freedom when they arrive on the Ark in October 2559 seeking to fire the Halo Array and begin the Great Journey. Aided by the Forerunner Archeon-class ancilla Intrepid Eye, the Keepers and the loyalists nearly succeed in their mission, but they are ultimately foiled by the Banished and the UNSC. In the process, Castor learns the truth about the Halos and breaks off his alliance with the loyalists as the UNSC Spirit of Fire launches an orbital bombardment that destroys Epsilon Clarion and Intrepid Eye. The battle wipes out the Keepers completely aside from Castor and Blademaster Inslaan 'Gadogai while the only survivor of the loyalist forces that took part is Bhasvod.[5] However, the damage that Bhasvod took prevented him from recovering the crystal shards that the Banished had stolen from the loyalists and thus keeping him from opening a portal to Cloister to warn Jom G'e'qth that their plan had failed.[3]
Military assets
Given their status as soldiers picked for their loyalty to the Prophet of Truth during the Great Schism, the loyalist troops consist primarily of Jiralhanae and their Kig-Yar subordinates, numbering in the dozens. As expected, the loyalists remained outfitted with Covenant-era arms and weaponry including Type-51 carbines and at least six Phantoms.[1]
List of appearances
- Halo: Shadows of Reach
- Sacrifice (First appearance)
- Halo: Divine Wind
Notes
- ^ In Sacrifice, these soldiers are only ever referred to as Covenant forces; this name is applied here to help differentiate from actual Covenant-era soldiers from prior to the empire's fall
Sources