Halo universe

The Halo universe is a fictional setting for the video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, the future games Halo 3 and Halo Wars, and the books listed on Halo (video game series).

Planets

 * Jericho VII - The location of the battle at the beginning of the Fall of Reach, an Inner Colony, destroyed by the Covenant at the beginning of 2535.


 * Paris IV - mentioned in the books. Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson is a veteran of the battle. Also where he supposedly contracts Borens Syndrome.


 * Eridanus 2 – Eridanus 2 is the home planet of the SPARTAN II supersoldier Master Chief John-117. It is mentioned in the 2001 science fiction novel Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund.


 * Harvest – A human outer colony "farm" planet, first target of the Covenant and glassed by them in 2525.


 * Reach - Reach was a human planet that was glassed in the Covenant war against the human race. Until its destruction, Reach had been the most heavily fortified human colony, with 20 'Super' Magnetic Accelerator Cannons (designated Mark V) in orbit, and one of the two United Nations Space Command Headquarters. The Spartans of the SPARTAN II program were trained on this planet. The subterranean facility CASTLE Base was also located on Reach. Reach was apparently a former Forerunner base - an artifact with space and time-bending properties was recovered from a subterranean mine in the midst of the Covenant invasion.


 * Sigma Octanus IV — A colony planet in the Halo series, significant because Installation 04's "coordinates" were discovered there on a shard of ancient rock. It was later found that an asteroid bearing the rock fragments had entered the Sigma Octanus system via a nearby black hole and desposited the artifact on the planet.


 * Onyx - A planet in the upcoming novel Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund. Contains a new discovered Forerunner artifact that is of great importance to the Covenant and Humanity that could possible turn the tide of the war.


 * Earth - Humanity's homeworld, also heavily fortified with 300 Super MAC Platforms and having the second of the two United Nations Space Command Headquarters. Earth is being invaded and probably occupied by Covenant forces during Halo 2 and Halo 3.


 * Coral - An inner colony which is glassed by the Covenant during the I Love Bees plot line. Formerly the site of a UNSC/ONI archaeological dig that uncovered a Forerunner structure.


 * Troy - A colony which had prior warning from an ONI Corvette, of an impending attack by the Covenant. Evacuation was slow and had barely begun when the attack occurred and the evacuation was covered up by ONI and the UNSC to prevent hostilities rising from the civilian populace against the UNSC.


 * Threshold - The Gas Giant Installation 04 (or Alpha Halo) orbited before its destruction in the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Two campaign levels in Halo 2 are set on a gas mine in Threshold's low orbit, as well as a multiplayer map set on its moon Basis.


 * Substance - The Gas Giant Installation 05 (or Delta Halo) orbits.


 * Draco III - A world atacked by the Covenant sometime before the events of Sigma Octanus IV. Because they couldn't reach the location in time, the SPARTAN-II's watched via satellite as Covenant Grunts and Jackals slaughtered a group of survivors.

Other Locations

 * ONI Castle Base - Located on Reach, is the headquarters of Office of Naval Intelligence operations. A crystal of unusual characteristics with the ability to affect not only gravity, but space time is found in an ancient Forerunner cave buried deep underneath the Castle Base.


 * New Mombasa, East African Protectorate - The first city attacked when the Covenant invaded Earth in October 2552. The Ark, a Forerunner structure that commands the Halos, is rumored to be located just outside of New Mombasa, somewhere between the city and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Factions

 * The Covenant- a theocratic hegemony comprising many species of aliens led by religious leaders, "Prophets". Currently engaged in a 27-year war with humanity.
 * United Nations Space Command - AKA UNSC or U.N.S.C. A world-government offshoot that coordinates military action in human space.
 * The Forerunners - An ancient, mysterious race that died out millennia ago after an extended period of war with the Flood. Built the Halos and many other artifacts and structures throughout the galaxy.
 * The Flood - a virulent, xenophobic alien race that absorbs individuals with sufficient mass and intelligence as part of itself. The Flood appears to be a hive or communal mind, possibly under one leader (such as Gravemind). The Flood spores mutate the host's body into a combat form, which if sustaining sufficient damage becomes a carrier form, an incubator for more spores. The Flood is considered a parasite and dangerous enemy by both the Covenant and UNSC.

Human

 * Marines A rugged and diverse assortment of soldiers, the Marines of the UNSC are fighting a losing war against the Covenant


 * ODST The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are the special forces of the Marines who make orbital insertions through planetary atmospheres.

The ODST Divisions are nicknamed "Helljumpers" for their tenacity. Delivered to their targets via HEVs (Human Entry Vehicles)

These soldiers are always in the most danger of being killed on a mission. They are the toughest soldiers the UNSC has to fight the Covenant with other than the SPARTAN-IIs.

In addition to special armor and traning, the ODSTs carry combat knives, and are trained in long-term survival without reinforcements.


 * Spartan-IIs The SPARTAN-II program, headed by Dr. Catherine Halsey of ONI, Section 3, and Chief Petty Officer Mendez of the UNSC armed forces, was the program that turned ordinary children into the most capable fighting force that have ever seen battle.

Those children selected for the program were chosen based on their strength, height, weight, and various other criteria on which would serve the SPARTAN-II project best.

These children were then taken to Reach where they began their physical training by CPO Mendez at the age of 5-7 years of age. They trained as hard as the Marines, and after two years, they began their treatments for physical augmentation. Some of these augmentations caused some defects though, and a few of the young Spartans did not survive and some who did were to badly deformed to serve in battle. Those who did survive, and had no side effects, were augmented further with special growth enhancements.

The Spartans were issued their first MJOLNIR Mark V armor in 2525 and were given their first campaign at the age of about 14 years of age

The indentities of the Spartan's full names have been deleted from the military records.

These are the tags of the known Spartans who survived the intitial fall of Reach: John-117, Kelly-087, Grace-093, Vinh-029, Fred-104, Li-008, Will-043, Isaac-039, Anton-044, and Linda-058.

Although some did perish in their escape from Reach and after the first strike lead by John-117, the last known surviving Spartans are: John-117, Kelly-087, Fred-104, Will-043, and Linda-058.

Currently, Kelly-087's status is assumed alive, but her whereabouts are unknown. She is assumed to be in company with Dr. Catherine Halsey.

Section Two of the Office of Naval Intellegence has made a significant effort to keep the reports of Spartan soldier's deaths.

This created a strong feeling among the general populace that Spartan's were invincible and could not die. Those that were killed were listed as MIA instead of KIA, and the effort has been largely successful in deceiving the human population.

Current List of Confirmed SPARTAN-II Status * SPARTAN-001    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-002    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-003    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-004    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-005    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-006    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-007    -Unknown- * Li-008         -KIA DATE RECORD ERROR ANOMALY- Incinerated by plasma torpedo during EVA repairs. * SPARTAN-009    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-010    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-011    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-012    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-013    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-014    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-015    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-016    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-017    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-018    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-019    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-020    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-021    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-022    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-023    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-024    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-025    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-026    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-027    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-028    -Unknown- * Joshua-029     -KIA 0713 hours, August 30, 2552- Shot down in a captured Banshee flyer * Vinh-030       -KIA 0107 hours, September 7, 2552- Shot by Covenant * SPARTAN-031    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-032    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-033    -Unknown- * Samuel-034     -KIA 2055 hours, November 27, 2525- Incinerated in HE Anvil-II blast, resulting in destruction of Covenant Cruiser. * SPARTAN-035    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-036    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-037    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-038    -Unknown- * Isaac-039      -KIA 0107 hours, September 7, 2552- Shot by Covenant * SPARTAN-040    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-041    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-042    -Unknown- * William-043    -Active- * Anton-044      -KIA DATE RECORD ERROR ANOMALY- Incinerated by plasma torpedo during EVA repairs. * SPARTAN-045    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-046    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-047    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-048    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-049    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-050    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-051    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-052    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-053    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-054    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-055    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-056    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-057    -Unknown- * Linda-058      -Active- * Malcom-059     -KIA 0632 hours, August 30, 2552- Physical trauma from HALO drop w/ no chute * SPARTAN-060    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-061    -Unknown- * Maria-062      -Retired, Songnam, Korea- * SPARTAN-063    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-064    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-065    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-066    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-067    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-068    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-069    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-070    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-071    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-072    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-073    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-074    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-075    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-076    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-077    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-078    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-079    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-080    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-081    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-082    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-083    -Unknown- * Fhajad-084     -Active, ONI Section 1- * SPARTAN-085    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-086    -Unknown- * Kelly-087      -MIA- Location: Unknown. Last seen with Doctor Catherine Halsey. * SPARTAN-088    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-089    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-090    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-091    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-092    -Unknown- * Grace-093      -KIA 1751 hours, September 13, 2552- Hit by Brute Shot. Body incinerated. * SPARTAN-094    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-095    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-096    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-097    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-098    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-099    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-100    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-101    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-102    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-103    -Unknown- * Fredrick-104   -Active- * SPARTAN-105    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-106    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-107    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-108    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-109    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-110    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-111    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-112    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-113    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-114    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-115    -Unknown- * SPARTAN-116    -Unknown- * John-117 (MCPO) -Active- * James-***      -MIA- Estimated location: Near Space Dock Gamma, Epsilon Eridani system, planet Reach. * Kirk-***       -Active, crippled (confined to neutral-buoyancy gel tank), ONI- * René-***       -Active, crippled (confined to neutral-buoyancy gel tank), ONI- * Nicole-458     -Traped in the 21st century due to a wake of a freak slipspace anomaly. All other SPARTAN-II's (001-007, 009-028, 031-033, 035-038, 040-042, 045-057, 060, 061, 063-083, 085, 086, 088-092, 094-103, 105-116, 118-150) are assumed KIA. It should be noted that three of the assumed KIA were on battlefields too far distant to be recalled, and James', Kirk's, and René's SPARTAN ids are unknown. There were also a total of Fourty-Two SPARTAN-II's that survived the augmentation process altogether.

Covenant

 * Engineer (Hunagok) Medium-sized floating Covenant, who simply fix things on Covenant ships. Accoring to the book Halo : First Strike by Eric Nylund, they do not prefer helping "allies" or "enemies", as one Hunagok repairs the shielding system on Master Chief SPARTAN John-117.


 * Grunt (Unggoy) Stout and numerous, the Unggoy long have been the lifeblood of the Covenant infantry. they will obey any order in the service of their duty and fight, the Unggoy will fight well with their comrades the Kig-yar, and obey their commanders the Sangheili.


 * Jackal (Kig-yar) Slight in build, the Kig-yar remain a valuable fighting force, great marksman, they offer much tactical advantage in ground combat. Faster and taller than Unggoy.


 * Drone (Yanme'e) Flight based infantry, perfect for space or low gravity zones.


 * Elite (Sangheili) The most zealous of all soldiers in the covenant, Sangheili have been the heart and soul of the covenant for many ages.


 * Hunter (Lekgolo) Come in pairs always, and due to their large size are not used in many environments. Mostly used for defensive or heavy reinforcement purposes.


 * Brute (Jiralhanae) Recently joined the covenant, ape-like in many ways and graced with great strength.


 * Prophet (Prophet) Leaders of the Covenant. Not much is known of this caste.

The Halos

 * Halo (megastructure)
 * The Ark (Halo)

Travel

 * For interstellar travel, see Slipspace

Human

 * M6D Automatic Pistol: A semiautomatic sidearm. Fires a 12.7 mm semi-armour-piercing high-explosive projectile. The M6D has a 12 round magazine and the ability to link up to suit or helmet optics to create a 2x optical smart-link scope. - Halo: Combat Evolved armament
 * M6C Semiautomatic Officer's Sidearm: A less expensive version of the M6D without the 2x scope. Fires 12.7 mm semi-armour-piercing ammunition. - Halo 2 Armament
 * M7 Caseless Sub-Machine Gun: A short-range SMG that fires caseless rounds from a 60-round magazine. 5 x 28 mm caseless ammunition with a cyclic rate of 1500 rpm. - Halo 2 Armament (makes a chronological appearance in the novel Halo: First Strike)
 * MA5B Assault Rifle: A short range assault rifle designed with a small LCD screen to display remaining rounds and the relative position of the gas giant, Threshold. The MA5B has a 60 round magazine of 7.62 x 51 mm ammunition. - Halo: Combat Evolved armament
 * MA2B Carbine Rifle, a smaller, compact version of the MA5B with smaller magazine, scope, and higher accuracy. - Book Armament (Not found in either Halo game)
 * BR55 Battle Rifle: The BR55 is a battle rifle with a 3-round-burst setting and a 36 round magazine. Fires 9.5mm rounds. Normally fitted with a 2x optical scope, no smart-link feature. - Halo 2 Armament (makes a chronological appearance in the novel Halo: First Strike)
 * M90 Pump-action Shotgun: The M90 is an 8-gauge standard issue pump action shotgun. It can carry up to 12 rounds of ammunition. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * S2 AM Sniper Rifle:The S2 AM is a semiautomatic magazine-fed sniper rifle. The rounds can travel up to 500 meters and the optic connection through the hand can give the visor a 2x (replaced by 5x in Halo 2) or 10x zoom. Carries four 14.6 x 114 mm APFSDS (Armour piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot) rounds per magazine. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * M19 SSM Rocket Launcher: The M19 SSM Rocket Launcher is a 2-round double-barreled rocket launcher that fires high explosive projectiles. Nicknamed the 'Spanker'. Upgraded with a tracking system in Halo 2. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade: Standard issue UNSC fragmentation grenade. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * Ship-based Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, "MAC Gun": The ship-based MAC gun is the standard primary weapon system on most large UNSC starships.  It fires a super dense projectile capable of destroying most human made starships in one shot.  Against a Covenant ship however, it takes one or two of these rounds just to bring down their shields.  Usually, a third or fouth follow up shot is required to disable or destroy a Covenant ship. Since the ship-based MAC gun can take two or more minutes to recharge, multiple UNSC ships will launch their MAC rounds at one Covenant ship in order to destroy it.  The one exception to this is the modified Halcyon-class UNSC cruiser Pillar of Autumn.  The MAC gun on the Pillar of Autumn fires a special light round with a ferrous core, and an outer core of tungsten carbide causing the round to splinter on impact like a hollow point bullet.  This particular MAC gun has magnetic recylers coupled with booster capacitors allowing for three consecutive shots before needing to be recharged.
 * Mark V "Super" Magnetic Accelerator Cannon: The Super MAC orbital defense gun is the most powerful non nuclear weapon employed by the UNSC. It fires a three thousand ton projectile at point four-tenths the speed of light.  The linear accelerator coils that propel these rounds are larger than a UNSC cruiser.  This gun recharges it's power directly from a planet based fusion reactor complex, and can fire another round within five seconds.  Nicknamed the "big stick", this gun can penetrate a Covenant ship's shields and shatter it into a million pieces.

Covenant

 * Plasma Pistol: A Covenant pistol that fires green plasma. Can be overcharged to do more damage. The over-charge mode of fire can completely destroy an energy shield in one hit, but causes an instant over-heat. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * Plasma Rifle: A Covenant automatic rifle that fires blue plasma at a rapid rate. Sustained fire can lead to overheating. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * Brute Plasma Rifle: A Covenant automatic rifle used by Brutes, resembling a red Plasma Rifle. It has a significantly higher rate of fire than the standard Plasma Rifle, but it overheats faster and uses up more energy per shot. - Halo 2 Armament
 * Covenant Carbine: A Covenant semiautomatic rifle that fires highly charged uranium projectiles. - Halo 2 Armament
 * Needler: A Covenant weapon that shoots explosive needle-like projectiles that have the ability to home in on targets. The needles detonate if eight or more are embedded in a single target, usually killing or destroying the victim. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament
 * Particle Beam Rifle: An energy-based Covenant sniper rifle, capable of 5x and 10x zoom. The high power of the rounds limits the rifle's capacity to 18 rounds. - Halo 2 Armament
 * Fuel Rod Cannon: A Covenant heavy weapon that fires explosive, radioactive green rods from a 5-round magazine. - Halo 2 Armament
 * Brute Shot: A Covenant grenade launcher prominently used by Brutes. It carries four low-yield grenades in a magazine, and it has a breech-mounted blade that makes for a very effective melee weapon. Projectiles bounce once before exploding. - Halo 2 Armament
 * Energy Sword: A Covenant sword made of magnetically shaped plasma energy. Lethal at close range. - Halo 2 Armament
 * Plasma Grenade: A Covenant hand grenade which has the ability to stick to enemies or vehicles. - Halo & Halo 2 Armament

Forerunner

 * Sentinel Beam: A weapon mounted on Foreunner constructs called Sentinels. Weaker designs fire an orange energy beam; stronger designs fire a blue energy beam. - Halo 2 Armament

Communications
The MJOLNIR Armor is able to communicate with any other suit in any battlefield situation. Special monitoring stations on high class battleships, such as the Pillar of Autumn, can also communicate with the MJOLNIR armor. The suit uses cybernetics to tell what or whom the Spartan wants to communicate with, then transmits an automatic wavelength decoder (the static sound on Red vs. Blue) to contact the selected source. In the Red vs. Blue story line, this communication system is used by an AI called O'Malley to transport himself from one suit of armor to the other. This allows him to possess whoever is wearing the armor.

Early Conflicts
In the years 2160-2200, various governments, and factions fought for control of Earth and its first Colonies. As overpopulation and unrest on Earth mounted, new political movements formed including the Jovian Frieden and Koslovics led by Vladimir Koslov, resurgences of Fascism and Neo Communism which waged the Interplanetary, Rain Forest Wars Campaign and Mars clashes and were defeated by the United Nations Space Command.

The human colonization of the Orion Arm
In the years 2170-2291, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) successfully developed humanity's first faster than light drive, the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine. For the first time in history, the rapid colonization of other worlds is made possible. By 2390, 210 worlds had been occupied by humans, and were being actively terraformed to suit man's needs. These worlds are to become known as the Inner Colonies. By 2490, the UNSC's fledging Interstellar Empire had expanded to between 800 to 1000 planets throughout the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. During this period, the planet Reach becomes one of the two headquarters of the UNSC military and government (the other was Earth itself), and is destined to become the most heavily fortified world under human control and the Inner Colonies became the heart of the United Nations Imperial Government.

In addition, there were Brushfire Wars in the Outer Colonies in which Rebel Insurrections including the one at the Eridanus System led by Colonel Robert Watts were suppressed.

Shutting down piracy/SPARTAN Project
At the time of 2517, The UNSC was facing extremely low morale due to piracy and the Brushfire Wars. In order to remove the rebellion without a significant sacrifice of human life, Dr. Catherine Halsey moves forward with the SPARTAN-II project. 75 gifted children were abducted and replaced by flash-clones, and drafted into the UNSC. The Spartans went through rigorous training and physical augmentations. Code-named SPARTANs, these genetically enhanced troops were trained from the age of six into a life of battle, and will become a great asset against the Covenant.

On September 12, 2525 the Spartans were sent to the Eridanus II system to capture Colonel Robert Watts. The mission was successful, and therefore significantly reduced the pirate threat. The SPARTANs' roles however did not end with the capture of Robert Watts, since they were needed for the new war against the Covenant.

Shortly after the capture of Colonel Robert Watts, the SPARTANs are now part of the UNSC's military ground forces. Before engaging the Covenant, all SPARTANs were given special armor designated MJOLNIR Mark IV, which, in laymen’s terms, can increase their strength, speed, and reaction time. They were the only ones who could wear it, as those without the proper body training or biological augmentations (like the SPARTANs) killed themselves with strength-enhanced convulsions, as shown through a vicious scene in Halo: The Fall of Reach wherein an ordinary marine lieutenant prepares to test out the armour and is told to move his right arm to his chest. Without the same special enhancements similar to that of the SPARTANs, his arm is then thrown at a shocking speed uncontrollably above his head and moves past his shoulder, shattering the bones in it. Too slow to react, his mind's delayed attempt to reposition his arm sadly results in only more uncontrollable spasms. The lieutenant is thrown into a painful cycle of convulsions and is killed. While humans suffered defeat after defeat in space, they could almost always prevail with the help of the SPARTANs in ground engagements. The main character of Halo 's gameplay, the Master Chief, is a veteran SPARTAN.

The Human-Covenant War begins
On February 3, 2525, an orbital platform near the colony of Harvest detected an unknown object on its long range radar. The object was contructed with materials unlike anything seen before. All contact with Harvest was lost soon after. The Colonial Military Administration sent the scout ship Argo to investigate. That ship arrived in-system on April 20, but other than a brief transmission to confirm it arrived in the system, no further reports were made. In response, Fleet Command assembled a battle group consisting of the destroyer Heracles as well as the frigates Arabia and Vostok. They entered the Harvest System on October 7 and discovered the once-lush planet to be completely incinerated and the surface melted down to glass. All three million inhabitants dead. Havest was unfortunate to be the first human world to be "glassed". The battlegroup soon then found the vessel responsible still orbiting the planet. The unidentified vessel then launched an immediate attack upon the three UNSC ships. Only one, the Heracles, managed to limp back to Reach, badly damaged. The Heracles returned with a message that was sent to them pre-translated by the Covenant saying, "Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument".

In response, the UNSC was placed on full alert and on November 1; Vice Admiral Preston Cole mobilizes the largest space fleet in human history to retake Harvest.

Vice Admiral Cole's war fleet defeated the Covenant ships at Harvest in 2531. The victory was celebrated and publicized on every colony all the way to Earth. The UNSC media however didn't mention that Cole had won only because he outnumbered the Covenant three to one... and even then, he had lost two-thirds of his fleet. The war was not over though, not by far. Promoted to Admiral, Cole spent the next four years waging a costly campaign to defend the colonies from the Covenant. However despite his excellent leadership and tactical brilliance, one by one the colony worlds fell. The highly advanced Covenant ships simply outclassed the UNSC vessels due to the fact that they had shields and their weapons did not need to charge for as long.

Covenant ships possess several technological features which make them far superior to their human counterparts. First, they have superior maneuvering and tracking abilities when employing faster than light travel (ships in Halo, like many other science fiction titles, achieve faster than light speeds by moving through an alternate realm. In Halo it is called "slipspace"). The (human) Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace generators ripped a hole in normal space by brute force. But the Covenant technology used a different approach. The Covenant could pick a path through the subatomic dimensions; a gentle push from their generators enlarged the fields just enough to allow their ships to pass seamlessly into the alternate space with minimal energy. The end result was that Covenant ships can jump faster, and more accurately than any UNSC ships. Where as UNSC jumps could vary by hundreds of thousands of kilometers, Covenant ships can make jumps with pin point accuracy.

Second, Covenant ships possess resilient, recharging shields, which must be destroyed in order to physically damage the ship. This is quite difficult, as even a standard Covenant frigate (one of their smaller capitol ships) can withstand the full blast of a Shiva nuclear warhead. It is assumed that their larger ships would take multiple Shiva warheads to even take down their shields. In The Fall Of Reach, Jacob Keys uses a Shiva nuclear warhead to take down a big warship, but only after he took down its shields. However, larger UNSC vessels have had success in using their MAC guns to bring down Covenant shields.

Third, Covenant ships employ more powerful weapons, including a form of guided plasma, which can often destroy human vessels in a single hit. It should be noted that one of the strategies the Covenant regularly employs is to use its ship's powerful plasma weapons to systematically vapourise a planet from orbit, exterminating everything living on the surface of the planet. (Also known as 'glassing')

By 2535, virtually all of the Outer Colony worlds had been destroyed by the Covenant. The Cole Protocol was established by military order: all human vessels must ensure that Covenant forces do not find Earth. To do this they must jump out of a battle to a randomised vector that points away from any human worlds.

The Cole Protocol
Quoted from Halo: The Fall of Reach, page 135:


 * United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1
 * Encryption Code: Red
 * Public Key: file/first light/
 * From: UNSC/NAVCOM Fleet H. T. Ward
 * To: ALL UNSC PERSONNEL
 * Subject: General Order 098831A-1 ("The Cole Protocol")
 * Classification: RESTRICTED (BGX Directive)

To safeguard the Inner Colonies and Earth, all UNSC vessels or stations must not be captured with intact navigation databases that may lead Covenant forces to human civilian population centers.
 * The Cole Protocol

If any Covenant forces are detected: vectors NOT directed toward Earth, the Inner Colonies, or any other human population center.
 * 1. Activate selective purge of databases on all ship-based and planetary data networks.
 * 2. Initiate triple-screen check to ensure all data has been erased and all backups neutralized.
 * 3. Execute viral data scavengers. (Download from UNSCTTP://EPWW.COLEPROTOCOL/Virtualscav/fbr.091)
 * 4. If retreating from Covenant forces, all ships must enter Slipstream space with randomized
 * 5. In case of imminent capture by Covenant forces, all UNSC ships MUST self-destruct.

Violation of this directive will be considered an act of TREASON, and pursuant to UNSC Military Law Articles JAG 845-P and JAG 7556-L, such violations are punishable by life imprisonment or execution.

/end file/ Press ENTER if you understand these orders.

Also, sub-section 7 of the Protocol states that no captured Covenant ship may be taken to a human occupied system until a exhaustive search of said ship is done. This was considered a technicality until the events of Halo: First Strike in 2552, in which a team led by the Master Chief captured a Covenant flagship.

The Battle of Reach
By 2552, many of Humanity's Outer Colonies have been destroyed by the Covenant (although they were repulsed with significant losses at Sigma Octanus IV). In a move of desperation, UNSC orders a secret plan to capture a Covenant ship using a SPARTAN task force and find the coordinates of their home planet. A group of SPARTANs, led by the Master Chief, also known as Spartan 117, are chosen for this mission, and board a specially outfitted Halcyon-class cruiser, the Pillar of Autumn, under the command of Captain Jacob Keyes, as well as an upgrade to the MJOLNIR Mark V armor, completely integrated with an energy shielding system. This plan, however, is interrupted when the Covenant launch a surprise attack on the fortress world of Reach which they had deviously located via an automated probe attached to the hull of the UNSC destroyer Iroquois.

During this battle, half of Reach is overrun and glassed, and the human fleet is obliterated, as the humans were outnumbered 3:1, giving them absolutely no chance even though they had Orbital MAC Guns. Worse still, the Master Chief thinks that all of the SPARTANs are killed on the surface of the planet during its bombardment (a few of the SPARTANs are revealed to have survived in Halo: First Strike). The last remaining SPARTAN, the Master Chief, escapes with the Pillar of Autumn. In accordance with the Cole Protocol, the Autumn follows a "randomized" slipspace vector which leads to the discovery of the Halo installation. This vector is later revealed to have been quickly generated from some Forerunner hieroglyphs by the ship's AI Cortana.

First Strike
Occurs between the first and second Halo video games. The story starts off with Master Chief and a few other survivors in space above the destroyed Halo. They capture a Covenant flagship and make their way back to Reach. When they arrive they find the entire planet ravaged. Yet something is strange. The Covenant usually glass a world and move on, but there are small patches of the planet left unscathed. In an alternate storyline we find out that other spartans have found an ancient Forerunner structure under ONI's Castle Base. There they find a special artifact that warps space time.

Cortana, now in control of the Covenant ship, docks with a partially destroyed UNSC ship and combines their power. After toying around with the controls she realizes that the Covenant know virtually nothing about the technology they posess. She redesigns the plasma cannons to fire more effectively, increasing their destructive power. She also finds out how the Covenant move so easily through slipspace. The technology she gathers could effectively turn the tide of the war.

After going through many battles the Master Chief and other spartans discover a massive plot to attack the Sol system (Earth). They covertly attack and destroy a massive Covenant refit and repair station along with an attack force many times larger than the one that attacked Reach. In doing so they lose the Covenant flagship; however, they save the UNSC ship and escape back to earth with it. Thus begins Halo 2.