Foundry (location): Difference between revisions

{{Status|Canon}}

[[File:H3 Installation00 Foundry.jpg|thumb|300px|The Ark's central Forge from space.]]

The '''Foundry''',{{Ref/Game|H3|Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal 3}}{{Ref/Game|Id=PL|HW2|Phoenix Logs|Detail=The Foundry}} also known as the '''Forge''',{{Ref/Novel|Id=HP42|Pri|Chapter=42}} is a colossal manufacturing facility located at the heart of an [[Ark]] installation, used to construct [[Halo Array|Halo]] ringworlds. Both [[Installation 00]] and its older counterpart, the [[greater Ark]], possessed one.{{Ref/Reuse|HP42}} Installation 00's Foundry was home to a scarred planetoid that had been extensively mined by Forerunner machines, either to support the construction of the Ark or for potential replacement Halo installations.{{Ref/Level|Id=H3Covenant|H3|The Covenant (level)|The Covenant}}{{Ref/Level|Id=H3Halo|H3|Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo}}

[[File:HM SenescentArk.jpg|thumb|250px|One of the original twelve Gyre installations rising out of the greater Ark's forge.]]

Foundries have been an integral component of both the [[greater Ark]] and [[Installation 00|Lesser Ark]] installations, with a broadly similar design and function in both instances—with the primary difference simply being the sheer scale of the Foundry. For the greater Ark, the Foundry was responsible for constructing the [[Senescent Array]] of twelve ringworlds, with the Foundry measuring a total of 30,000 kilometres in diameter. However, it was incapable of constructing the smaller, more powerful Halo installations designed as an improvement over the original rings, necessitating the construction of a second Ark.{{Ref/Novel|Sil|Chapter=String 3}} The Foundry on the second Ark was 10,000km in diameter—and constructed the second Halo array of seven rings of the same diameter.

The Foundry at the heart of the Lesser Ark (or, Installation 00) takes the form of a circular machine lining the centre of the installation, with mineral-rich moon in the middle that is mined by [[Retriever Sentinel]]s to provide the raw resources needed for [[Assembler Sentinel|Assembler]] and [[Excavator Sentinel]]s to construct new Halos.{{Ref/Reuse|PL}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=343}} The planetoid is partially obscured by dense violet clouds.{{Ref/Reuse|H3Covenant}}{{Ref/Reuse|H3Halo}} The planetoid at the center of the Foundry was originally located within the [[Milky Way]] galaxy, but was moved through [[slipspace]] by the Forerunners in order to be mined.{{Ref/Book|AoBW|Page=32}}

[[File:H3 Narrows.jpg|thumb|250px|One of the installation's cooling stations.]]

In late 2552, the Foundry's central planetoid appeared to be approximately one third of [[Earth]]'s dimensions, with a diameter of roughly 4,255 kilometers. It could have originally been substantially larger, since the gap in which it is located appears able to accommodate an object at least twice its diameter. Orange-red coloration can be observed in the fissures which dot the planetoid, indicating that it may have a molten internal structure.{{Ref/Reuse|H3Covenant}}{{Ref/Reuse|H3Halo}} The Foundry's rim is lined with multiple different biomes, including at least one snow/alpine biome hosting a [[Clarion]] facility,{{Ref/Reuse|H3Covenant}} and another desert biome hosting one of the [[access point]]s to [[Slipspace translocation|translocate]] from the Ark onto the surface of the Halo in the forge.{{Ref/Reuse|HW2Foundry}}

 

The Foundry generates so much heat that the Ark requires multiple cooling stations to keep the installation inhabitable. At least two such systems span a snowy gorge; it is possible that the massive cooling systems cause this icy climate.{{Ref/Map|H3|Narrows|Detail=Map description|Quote=Without cooling systems such as these, excess heat from the Ark's forges would render the construct uninhabitable.}}

 

Along with the [[Sentinel]] populations found around the Ark, the Foundry has an extra, albeit passive defense. It is equipped with a massive energy barrier, which can be raised through activating [[barrier tower]]s to protect both the core and the Foundry from a possible [[Flood]] attack. The [[Installation 00 Citadel|Ark's Citadel]], a [[superluminal communications]] array and the [[control room|control center]] of the entire Halo system, is included within the barrier's confines.{{Ref/Reuse|H3Covenant}}{{Ref/Reuse|H3Halo}}

 

[[File:The Ark's Core.jpg|300px|thumb|The Foundry, as seen in 2552.]]

Following the [[Battle of Installation 04|destruction]] of [[Installation 04]], the Foundry began crafting a replacement. During a mission to Installation 00's [[Cartographer]], [[343 Guilty Spark]] appeared to recognize this while looking at a map of the installation, but was prevented from explaining what he had seen.{{Ref/Level|H3|The Ark (level)|The Ark}} Shortly after the [[Battle of the Citadel]], [[Installation 08]] rose out of the Foundry and into space in an incomplete but nearly-finished state.{{Ref/Reuse|H3Covenant}}

 

After the destruction of Installation 08, the Foundry began constructing a second replacement for [[Installation 04]], known as [[Installation 09]]. By the time of the arrival of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} in [[2559]], the installation was almost complete.{{Ref/Level|Id=Line|HW2|Hold the Line}}

 

When the [[Banished]] arrived on Installation 00, they took over the Foundry to act as one of their bases. In order to destroy the Banished flagship ''[[Enduring Conviction]]'', the [[smart AI]] [[Isabel]] fired ''Enduring Conviction''{{'}}s ventral [[energy projector]] into the Ark which resulted in the installation's [[Aggressor Sentinel]]s destroying the carrier.{{Ref/Level|Id=Under|HW2|Under the Dark}} The subsequent launch of Installation 09 opened portals to the ring and the ''Spirit of Fire''{{'}}s forces were forced to [[Second_Ark_Conflict#Stopping_Banished_reinforcements|attack]] the Banished base in the Foundry to stop them.{{Ref/Level|Id=HW2Foundry|HW2|The Foundry}}

During the [[Second Ark Conflict]], the almost-complete Halo installation in the Foundry was discovered by Professor [[Ellen Anders]] who proposed launching the ring to the [[Soell system]] in order to send a [[distress beacon]] to alert the [[UNSC]] of their situation.{{Ref/Reuse|Line}} Following the destruction of ''Enduring Conviction'', Anders launched the ring from the Foundry{{Ref/Reuse|Under}} and it subsequently entered [[slipspace]] en route to the Soell system.{{Ref/Level|HW2|Last Stand (Halo Wars 2 level)|Last Stand}}

File:HW2-Core.png|The Foundry's planetoid in ''Halo Wars 2''.

File:HW2 I04C.png|[[Installation 09]] rising from the Foundry. Note the clouds of Sentinels.

File:CF GreaterArk 4.jpg|The Foundry of the greater Ark.

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