The Long Road Home

“

A look at the story in between Halo 2 and Halo 3.

”

Into Hell is a short Halo universe documentary uploaded to Halo Waypoint in 2010. The short is predominantly focused on explaining the events of the Halo timeline between the finale of Halo 2 and opening of Halo 3, alongside some of the events covered in the comic Halo: Uprising.

An alternate version of the video was later uploaded to Halo Channel and the Waypoint YouTube channel, reedited to use Halo 2: Anniversary cutscenes following the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Blog transcript

The following is a transcript of the original blog posted to Halo Waypoint to serve as context for the video.

The discovery of Delta Halo filled those who encountered it with both awe and wonder—but it also set loose a number of threats, all of which held catastrophic potential for the galaxy. The Flood had escaped containment and now controlled a number of Slipspace-capable vehicles. The installation’s failsafe had been triggered, effectively arming the Halo Array, and the Prophet of Truth led the largest Covenant fleet ever assembled toward Earth, intent on striking at the heart of humanity.

Ultimately, the activation of the gateway portal below the Earth’s surface would not only set into motion the destruction of the Covenant and the Flood, but it would secure a future for humanity—a future which had been in dire peril for nearly thirty years.

But how did all of this take place and what were the steps taken to get there? What defined those fourteen dark days in between? Let’s take a look...

Video transcript

Captured by the Covenant military in the aftermath of the events of Installation 04, the Forerunner monitor known as 343 Guilty Spark managed to convince these soldiers of the truth about Halo. These warriors quickly defected, realising that the entire history of the Covenant was based on a lie. Unfortunately for the monitor, his newfound freedom was cut short when a Sangheili strike force killed the defectors and returned him to Covenant leadership. The Covenant would soon use Spark to leverage information about a newly-discovered Halo installation, one which they would come to call Delta Halo. Under the command of the Hierarchs, Tartarus intended to activate this Halo ring with the monitor's assistance. But upon his arrival at the ring's control room, the Brute Chieftain was assaulted by a Sangheili assassin known as the Arbiter. This event would lead to the end of Tartarus' life and deliver Guilty Spark into the hands of humanity.

When the Prophet of Regret fled from Earth on OCtober 20, 2552, the UNSC frigate In Amber Clad trailed close behind. Several days later, it would arrive near Delta Halo. On the surface of this new installation, the UNSC and Covenant forces would once again collide, tearing a hole into the heart of the ring's quarantine zone and eventually coming into contact with the devastating parasite known as the Flood. With the UNSC presence all-but eliminated, Sergeant Avery Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes fought against the Covenant forces which were attempting to activate the ring, forging an uneasy alliance with the Sangheili warrior known as the Arbiter. When a Covenant civil war ignited across Halo and in their holy city of High Charity, both the humans and the Arbiter recognised that the Flood could not be allowed to escape under any circumstance. It was at that time that the Arbiter would quickly call together a contingent of faithful; the newly-formed Fleet of Retribution.

An accomplished warrior and the catalyst which led to the Covenant civil war, Thel 'Vadamee faced off against the leader of the Jiralhanae, Tartarus, in Delta Halo's control room. This event would become a defining moment in Covenant history, ultimately leading to the standby of activation of all Halo rings. With direction from 343 Guilty Spark, Thel would learn of the Ark, now the only place where the Covenant could activate the Halo array. But the release of the Flood from Delta Halo would put these plans on Hold; it was then that the Arbiter met with his ally Rtas 'Vadumee, a Commander who once served within his fleet, leading the Fleet of Retribution with the assault carrier Shadow of Intent. Rtas and his Sangheili soldiers rendezvoused with the Arbiter and their newfound human allies. Together, they formulated a plan for sterilisation and quarantine of. They, along with any capable Sangheili-controlled ships, would cauterise the surface of Delta Halo through orbital bombardment - destroying anything which attempted to slip away.

On November 3rd, 2552, Guilty Spark remained behind with this fleet coordinating the critical containment efforts while the Arbiter, Keyes, and Johnson raced back to Earth to warn humanity and locate the Ark. In the days which followed the Covenant's vicious internal struggle, the shipmaster known as Rtas 'Vadumee would orchestrate a large-scale destruction of Delta Halo's surface and the surgical elimination of any ships which attempted to escape it. After days of this extensive campaign, a single Flood-infested cruiser managed to steel through their lines. Their last trajectory was Earth - the human homeworld and the location where both the Arbiter and the humans were headed. The shipmaster, ordering a portion of his fleet to pursue, would soon come to learn that not only did the ship contain the Flood, but it also held clear evidence of the Gravemind. The truth was horrific; the Flood's heightened consciousness controlled High Charity and it was now headed toward Earth.

In his own mind, the Prophet of Truth could not be stopped. While attempting to activate Delta Halo through Tartarus, the prophet took the Forerunner Dreadnought at the centre of High Charity and left for Earth. He recognised that the human homeworld held a gateway which would allow passage to the Ark, and ultimately, full control of the Halo rings. Arriving in the Sol system on November 8th, Truth quickly learned of another human threat which had stowed away on the very ship he had hoped would keep him safe. This situation was further compounded by the fact that this particular threat had already eliminated another prophet only days earlier. This threat was John-117 - the Master Chief.

Concerned for his own safety, Truth and his local forces became preoccupied with finding and eliminating the Spartan on the vast Forerunner keyship. After exerting significant resources and believing the issue to be resolved, Truth ordered that they jump further in-system to Earth, pushing past humanity's already battered defences. On November 17th, 2552, the Spartan known as the Master Chief emerged from the shadows and was eventually forced to escape the dreadnought, falling into the dark and dense jungles of eastern Africa. There, he would quickly reconvene efforts with Keyes and Johnson, teaming up with the Arbiter and chasing the prophet to the Ark, where Truth, the Covenant, and the Flood parasite would eventually find their end.

See also

• Archive:Halo Waypoint/2009 to 2014/Universe/Events

External links

• Halo Waypoint - The Long Road Home
• YouTube - The Long Road Home (reupload of the original video)
• YouTube - The Long Road Home (reedited version using Anniversary cutscenes)