- "I've hacked into the Covenant battlenet. They're actually broadcasting tactical data on unencrypted channels. We should show them who they're dealing with."
- — Cortana to John-117 on Installation 04.
The Covenant battle network,[1] often referred to as the Covenant battle net,[2] or simply the battlenet,[3] is the term for Covenant communication systems maintained to allow instantaneous contact between units, vessels and planets. It is the equivalent to the human COM systems. Following the defeat of the Covenant, various Covenant remnants have been shown to use the battle net or modifications of it for their own purposes.
Overview
Covenant
Covenant battle network channels are sometimes broadcast on the same frequencies as the UNSC COM, but to date, there is no explanation why; given the fact that this would broadcast the communications of both sides and potentially give up plenty of battle plans for the enemy. The Covenant have been known to broadcast their tactical data through unencrypted battlenet channels.[2] The battlenet can be isolated for deep space broadcast, as well as inter-ship and between units. The battlenet is standard equipment aboard all Covenant vessels, which have both intra- and inter-ship battlenets.[4] It can also be accessed through ground communication equipment such as communication nodes.
The Covenant inter-ship battlenet has a curious feature: a system of communicating orders throughout the Covenant fleet. Transmissions carry embedded sub communiques containing orders for ships to various jumps, rendezvouses and tasks. The efficient system allows orders circulating more quickly throughout the Covenant. However, it seems to have poor counter-intrusion security, as AIs like Cortana seem to have no problem in hacking it.
Through John-117's in-suit communications array, Cortana accessed the Covenant battlenet several times over the Battle of Installation 04 in order to gain intelligence. The battlenet was broadcast over all of Installation 04 and by monitoring it, Cortana was able to discern Covenant activity over the ring.[2] Some of the things she was able to find out provided needed answers about the Covenant activity and the nature of the installation.[5] Cortana also used it to find the crashed UNSC Pillar of Autumn in order to destroy Installation 04. At this point, Cortana mentioned that she was going to search "what's left" of it, indicating that all the chaos threw the battlenet into serious disarray.[6] While raiding the Truth and Reconciliation a second time, Cortana discovered that the battlenet was in such disarray that she couldn't even bring up ship schematics. As a result, she had to rely on records from the last raid to figure out where to go inside the ship.
Near the end of the Human-Covenant War, during the Battle for Earth, a defected Huragok was captured by a squad of ODSTs, and the Huragok agreed to share information in the Covenant battlenet after interrogated by Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson.[7] Two days later, the battlenet fell into disarray again, this time following the Prophet of Truth's departure through the Portal at Voi at the close of the Battle of Voi.[8]
Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
During the Battle of Requiem in July 2557, Cortana monitored a new battlenet used by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant to learn more about the situation.[9] During the early stages of the battle, Cortana detected reports of Promethean resistance on the battlenet while John-117 fought through Requiem's core.[10]
During the Requiem Campaign in 2558, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant mainly used one of the shield world's Forerunner subnets to communicate rather than their battlenet.[11] Later, Dr. Catherine Halsey's comm signal was discovered to have bounced off into 'Mdama's battlenet after being traced to "Lockup."[12]
In October 2558, while Blue Team was on Argent Moon, Jul 'Mdama's battlenet suddenly lit up as a Covenant remnant fleet arrived at the station, causing the team to change their plan to scuttling Argent Moon. As the team made their way through the station, they picked up chatter on the battlenet about Jul 'Mdama's death in the Battle of Kamchatka.[13]
Banished
The Banished use a modified version of the Covenant battlenet to connect to different FOBs and important Banished facilities such as Outpost Tremonius. After the Master Chief took control of Outpost Tremonius, he inserted the Weapon into a terminal where she easily removed the location from the Banished system, securing it.[14] After the Master Chief secured each of the UNSC FOBs in the area, the Weapon also removed them from the system, securing them. Each time an FOB was secured, the Weapon was able to secure data on Banished operations from the battlenet, including major bases and high-value Banished targets.[15]
Covenant battle network frequencies
These frequencies are most commonly used by the Covenant, but it seems that they occasionally utilize the UNSC D- and E- Bands.
List of appearances
- Halo: Combat Evolved (First mentioned)
- Halo: The Flood (Mentioned only)
- Halo: First Strike
- Halo 2 (Mentioned only)
- Halo: The Cole Protocol
- Halo 3: ODST (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Mentioned only)
- Halo 4 (Mentioned only)
- Spartan Ops (Mentioned only)
- Halo 2: Anniversary
- Halo: New Blood (Mentioned only)
- Halo Infinite (Mentioned only)
Sources
- ^ Halo: The Flood, page 38
- ^ a b c Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Halo
- ^ Halo: First Strike, page 55
- ^ Halo: First Strike, page 63
- ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level The Truth and Reconciliation
- ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Two Betrayals
- ^ Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Coastal Highway
- ^ Halo Legendary Crate, Data Drop #2
- ^ Halo 4
- ^ Halo 4, campaign level Forerunner
- ^ Spartan Ops, S104 Hairy Call
- ^ Spartan Ops, S109 The Hammer
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, campaign level Blue Team
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign level Outpost Tremonius
- ^ Halo Infinite
- ^ a b c d e f Halo: First Strike, page 297