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| Operation: WHITE GLOVE | |||||||||||||||||||
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SWORD Base and CASTLE Base, Reach | ||||||||||||||||||
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UNSC Victory
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Operation: WHITE GLOVE was a broad UNSC operation to destroy the Office of Naval Intelligence's CASTLE and SWORD military bases.[3]
Background
SWORD Base
SWORD Base was the site of previous incursions, including the Battle of Sword Base[4] and a later attack on August 12, 2552.[5] This left the base in ruins, and the Covenant began glassing the area. The base was deemed critical and was ordered to be destroyed.[1]
Battle
SWORD Base
- "Time to get to work, Noble Six. Take out those guns."
- — Carter to Noble Six.[1]
On August 29, 2552, SPARTAN-B312 and several ODSTs showed up to the ruins of Farragut Station. They cleared out local resistance around the station, and proceeded to Airview Base. There, Tyrants were blocking the remaining members of Noble Team from backing up existing forces. Along the path, they encountered more Covenant forces.[1]
In the sky, numerous UH-144 Falcons harassed Covenant Banshees. At Airview, Noble Six attacked defending Covenant and destroyed the Tyrants. Reinforcements, now able to move, flew to SWORD Base and began assaulting Covenant there. Noble Six regrouped with Carter-A259, Emile-A239, and Jun-A266 at Sword Base after battling more Covenant along the way.[1]
Together, they entered the base and cleared out the remaining Covenant. Believing the coordinates they were given led to a structurally important part of the base, they followed. Eventually they ended up in a dead-end hallway that had been heavily defended. Noble Team was then redirected to a new set of coordinates, and a wall in the hall opened up.[1]
NOBLE working for ONI
- "Your orders were a pretext to bring you to me and have been overridden."
- — Catherine Halsey to Carter-A259[1]
Dr. Catherine Halsey had actually been the cause of this. Using a tram system, she took NOBLE Team to an underground complex as part of her plan. Halsey had been decrypting data and needed protection from fast approaching Covenant.[1]
Noble Team, using pre-established M8 Wolf Spider turrets, mounted a successful defense against those Covenant. Upon entering Halsey's lab, Noble Team discovered their final objective; deliver an AI to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn in Asźod. Noble Six received the package, having been chosen to be the AIs caretaker. Noble, along with Halsey proceeded to escape the facility Jun however, was tasked with delivering Dr. Halsey to CASTLE Base.[1]
CASTLE Base
By August 30, Halsey had arrived at CASTLE Base.[6] By this time, Jun had left her for reasons unknown. Although the rest of the facility's personnel had evacuated, she began to enact Operation: WHITE GLOVE.[2] She was accompanied by the AI Kalmiya, a predecessor of Cortana, and was harried by Araqiel, the personal AI of her nemesis, Colonel James Ackerson. The operation called for the destruction of every artificial intelligence in the facility using the fail-safe in its Riemann matrix before the base was destroyed, thus ensuring that the Covenant did not capture such technology.[7] After erasing Araqiel with a fail-safe command, Halsey did the same to Kalmiya. When the surviving SPARTAN-IIs of Red Team arrived at the base, Halsey destroyed the facility via the self-destruct charges installed throughout the complex.[8] She, Frederic-104, William-043, Vinh-030, Isaac-039, and Kelly-087 were able to hide in the caves beneath the base. They were able to stop the Covenant from accessing the slipspace-distorting crystal in the Forerunner complex beneath the base, though they became trapped for several days.[9].
Aftermath
SWORD Base and Noble Team
The underground complex connected to SWORD Base was destroyed.[1] However, just prior to this, Dr. Halsey's personal journal was secured by the Office of Naval Intelligence.[3]
Emile, Six, and Carter managed to reach Asźod, at the cost of Carter's life, and deliver the package. However, Emile was killed moments after the hand-off, and Noble Six was left stranded on the surface of Reach as it was glassed, meeting his end at the hands of a Sangheili warrior only hours later.[10]
CASTLE Base
CASTLE Base and Menachite Mountain were completely razed by Operation: WHITE GLOVE. The damage was to the point that in order to get to the ruins of the base during Operation: WOLFE in 2559, specialty mining gear had to be brought along.[11]
Gallery
Noble Six operating a Scorpion while enroute to Airview Base.
UNSC troopers on a Falcon about to clash with Banshees.
Carter's Falcon flying past Six's Scorpion at Airview Base.
Noble Team's Falcon approaching SWORD Base.
Six's Scorpion fighting its way to SWORD Base's gate.
NOBLE Team clearing the courtyard of Covenant.
Noble Six takes point and leads NOBLE Team into SWORD Base.
SpecOps Sangheili inside the atrium of SWORD Base.
NOBLE Team arrives at the caverns under SWORD Base.
A Sangheili Ultra leading Covenant troops to Halsey's lab.
Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar and Mgalekgolo approaching the lab entrance.
NOBLE Team defending the lab entrance.
A Phantom deploys troops at the lab entrance.
A Sangheili General charges NOBLE Team.
List of appearances
- Halo: First Strike (First appearance)
- Halo: Reach
- Halo: Shadows of Reach (Mentioned only)
Sources
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Halo: Reach, campaign level The Package
- ^ a b Halo: First Strike, Chapter 14
- ^ a b Halo: Reach Legendary Edition, container manifest
- ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level ONI: Sword Base
- ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace
- ^ Halo: First Strike, chapter 12
- ^ Halo: First Strike, page 127-128
- ^ Halo: First Strike, page 135
- ^ Halo: First Strike, page 132-139
- ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level The Pillar of Autumn
- ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 1
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