Halo universe

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

Location

 * The Milky Way

Planets

 * Jericho VII - The location of the battle at the beginning of the Fall of Reach.


 * Paris IV - mentioned in the books.


 * Eridanus 2 – Eridanus 2 is the home planet of the SPARTAN II supersoldier Master Chief. 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.


 * Reach - Reach was destroyed in the Covenant war against the human race. Until its destruction, Reach had been the most heavily fortified human world, with 20 'Super' MAC 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.


 * Sigma Octanus IV — A colony planet in the Halo series, significant because the Halo's "coordinates" were discovered there


 * Earth - Humanity's homeworld, also heavily fortified with 300 MAC cannons 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.


 * 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 occured and the evacuation was covered up by ONI and the UNSC to prevent hostilities rising from the civilian populace against the UNSC.

Civilizations

 * The Covenant
 * United Nations Space Command - The primary human civilization.
 * The Forerunners
 * The Flood

The Halos

 * Halo (megastructure)
 * The Ark (Halo)

Travel

 * For interstellar travel, see Slipspace

Weaponry
(Note: every weapon listed has the ability to link up with your optics to display the number of rounds left and if applicable, a scope) (Note2: every weapon listed is compatible with an autoloader in the back of the MJOLNR armor to make sure every clip is loaded full) attachment in the hand of the MJOLNR armor allows for 2x scope.
 * M6D Semiautomatic Pistol: A small, semiautomatic sidearm. The M6D has a 12 round clip and the ability to link up to your optics to create a 2x scope.
 * M6C Semiautomatic Officer's Sidearm: A more compact version of the M6D without the 2x scope.
 * M7 Caseless Sub-Machine Gun: A short range SMG with caseless rounds and a 60 round magazine.
 * MA5B Assualt Rifle: An all range rifle designed with a small LCD screen to display remaining rounds. The MA5B has a 60 round magazine.
 * BR55 Assualt Rifle: The BR55 is a assualt rifle with a 3 round burst and a 36 round magazine. The optic
 * M90 Pump-action "Boomstick": The M90 is a 12 gauge standard issue pump action shotgun. It can carry up to 12 rounds of ammunition.
 * S2 AM Sniper Rifle:The S2 AM is a 4 round magazine loaded sniper rifle. The rounds can travel up to 500 meters and the optic connection through the hand can give the visor a 2x or 8x zoom.
 * M19 SSM Rocket Launcher: The M19 SSM Rocket Launcher is a 2 round reloadable RPR (rocket propelled...rocket).
 * M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade
 * Plasma Pistol
 * Plasma Rifle
 * Covenant Carbine
 * Brute Plasma Rifle
 * Needler
 * Partical Beam Rifle
 * Fuel Rod Cannon
 * Brute Shot
 * Energy Sword
 * Plasma Grenade
 * Sentinel Beam
 * Scarab Gun: This gun is a secret weapon.

Communications
The Spartan Armor is able to communicate with any other suit in any battlefield situation. Special moditering 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 to send an AI from one suit of armor to the other.

History
-FOLLOWING IS BY MICROSOFT-

2160-2200: EARLY CONFLICTS This period in human history was marked by a series of brutal conflicts between various governments and factions in our Solar System. Conflicts of particular historical importance included the Jovian Moons Campaign, The Rain Forest Wars, and a series of clashes on Mars.

As overpopulation and political unrest on Earth increased, a number of new political movements formed. The most noteworthy dissident movements of the period were the "Koslovics" and the "Frieden" movement. The Koslovics-supporters of neo-Communist hardliner Vladimir Koslov-sought a return to the glory days of Communism and the elimination of corporate and capitalist influence, particularly in orbital facilities and offworld colonies.

The Frieden movement was a resurgence of fascism, springing from anti-Koslovic sentiment that had taken root in the Jovian colonies (largely backed by Unified German Republic corporations, frequent targets of Koslovic "workers' crusades"). "Frieden" literally means "peace"-in this case, they believed that peace could be achieved only once the "oppressors on Terra Firma" were eliminated.

2160 March-June: The Jovian Moons Campaign began. Jovian secessionist attacks on United Nations Colonial Advisors on the moon Io led to three months of fighting between the Earth military and Jovian "Frieden" forces. Though this was not the first armed conflict in our Solar System, it was easily one of the bloodiest, and is generally considered to be the spark of increased friction and militarization that followed.

The Jovian Moons Campaign escalated tensions, as Earth's national governments-many of which sponsored colonies within the system-began fighting proxy wars off-planet. As these proxy wars continued, tensions on Earth mounted, leading to a number of armed conflicts on Earth itself.

2162 The Rain Forest Wars: Armed conflict ripped through South America, as Koslovic, Frieden, and UN forces all clashed over ideological differences, sparking additional conflicts off-planet.

2163 December: In a conflict that stemmed from the Rain Forest Wars, the three primary Earth factions clashed again, this time on Mars. A series of lightning strikes against Koslovic forces near the Argyre Planitia marked the first extra-terrestrial deployment of Marines. The campaign was an unqualified success. As a result, future military doctrine favored large contingents of Marines for ground assaults and ship-boarding actions.

2164: INTERPLANETARY WAR UN-sponsored military forces began a pattern of massive buildups, culminating in the first real interplanetary war. After the successful Marine deployment on Mars, recruitment drives and propaganda tactics strongly bolstered UNSC (United Nations Space Command) forces. UN forces defeated Koslovic and Frieden forces on Earth, then began a systematic and dedicated drive to crush their remnants on the various planets they held throughout the system. At the conclusion of these brushfire conflicts, Frieden and Koslovic forces were defeated in the face of a massive, unified and very powerful UN military.

2170: EXPANSION A unified Earth government was formed in the wake of the conflicts of 216. Now, the victors were forced to deal with a less obvious but equally serious threat: overpopulation and a massive military that had no enemy to fight.

In the postwar period there were massive population surges and the overpopulation, coupled with the destruction and famine bred by the Rain Forest Wars, threatened to destabilize the economy.

2291: FASTER THAN LIGHT A team of researchers, physicists, and mathematicians working in secret developed the Shaw-Fujikawa-Translight Engine, a practical means of propelling spacecraft across vast interstellar distances. This new engine allowed ships to tunnel into "the Slipstream" (also called "Slipspace"). Slipspace is a domain with alternate physical laws, allowing faster-than-light travel without relativistic side effects. Faster-than-light travel is not instantaneous; "short" jumps routinely take up to two months, and "long" jumps can last six months or more.

The SFTE generated a resonance field, which when coupled with the unusual physics of the Slipstream, allowed for dramatically shorter transit times between stars; however, scientists noted an odd "flexibility" to temporal flow while inside the Slipstream. Though no human scientist is sure why travel time between stars is not constant, many theorize that there are "eddies" or "currents" within the Slipstream-there is generally a five to ten percent variance in travel times between stars. This temporal inconsistency has given military tacticians and strategists fits-hampering many coordinated attacks.

2310: FIRST WAVE The Earth government unveiled the first in a line of colony ships-and volunteers were in great supply. Conditions on Earth had deteriorated in the face of overpopulation, so hitching a ride out to a colony became an attractive option.

Each colony ship was assigned military personnel and escort ships to help better utilize the massive (and expensive) standing fleets that, in the collapse of armed dissent, were soaking up a great deal of funding and resources.

Because FTL travel in this period was still fairly new and expensive, colonists and military personnel faced a stringent regimen of physical and mental testing. In theory, only the best-qualified citizens and soldiers were allowed to colonize "nearby" worlds. This was the birth of the Inner Colonies.

2362: THE ODYSSEY The Odyssey launched on January 1, 2362. The lead ship in a fleet of colony vessels, the Odyssey-laden with troops and terraforming gear-spearheaded the colonization of a new world. This sparked the first wave of human expansion beyond the confines of the Solar System.

2390: INNER COLONIES By 2390, the colonization of the Inner Colonies was fully underway. There were 210 human-occupied worlds in various stages of terraforming, and the population burden across human-controlled space was largely stabilized.

2490: THE BIRTH OF THE OUTER COLONIES Expansion continued at a rapid pace, and by 2490 human space encompassed more than 800 worlds throughout the Orion Arm of the Milky Way (ranging from fairly well-tamed planetary strongholds to tiny hinterland settlements). Outward expansion continued, and the Inner Colonies become a political and economic stronghold, though they relied heavily on raw materials supplied by the Outer Colonies.

During this period, the planet Reach (orbiting Epsilon Eridani, right on Earth's metaphorical doorstep) became the UNSC's primary Naval yard and training academy. Reach was a major producer of warships and colony vessels, as well as a training ground for covert operatives and Special Forces.

2525: THE COVENANT WAR BEGINS On April 20, 2525, contact with the Outer Colony, Harvest, was lost. After failing to re-establish contact with Harvest, the Colonial Military Administration sent a scout ship, the Argo, to investigate. Contact with the Argo was subsequently lost after the ship arrived in the Harvest system.

The CMA dispatched a battle group to Harvest, consisting of three warships. The lead ship in the battle group, the Heracles, returned to Reach, badly damaged and with heavy casualties. The ship's commander reported that an alien warship with powerful weaponry was present, and had decimated Harvest, exterminating the colonists (and presumably destroying the Argo).

The battle group engaged the alien warship and was thoroughly routed. The Heracles - following the destruction of the other two ships in the group - jumped out of the system, but due to the damage she had sustained, took several weeks to make it back to Reach.

The Earth military immediately upgraded their alert status and began preparations to move in and retake Harvest. By December, a massive Earth war fleet under Vice Admiral Preston Cole mobilized, one of the fastest such mobilizations of such a large fleet in the history of humankind.

2525: THE BATTLE OF HARVEST Cole's war fleet engaged the alien warship responsible for the decimation of the colony, scoring a victory (though the battle cost Cole two-thirds of his battle group). Only a last minute tactical inspiration turned the tide of battle.

After returning to Earth, Cole - promoted to Admiral - learned that a number of outlying colonies had been destroyed, leaving behind no survivors. Cole began to move his fleet around in an attempt to intercept the invaders. Ground and ship-to-ship battles began in earnest, raging throughout the Outer Colonies. During one ground engagement, human forces captured one of the aliens. Before he succumbed to his wounds, interrogators learned that the aliens referred to themselves as "the Covenant."

THE OUTER COLONY MASSACRES Over the next several years, Cole's forces were hammered, despite his excellent leadership and tactical brilliance. It was simply a matter of being outgunned; Covenant kill ratios tend to top four to one in ship-to-ship combat.

By November of 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. Human ships-when forced to withdraw-must not travel on an Earth-bound vector, even if that requires jumping into Slipspace without proper navigational calculations. If blind jumps are not possible, the ship's captain must order self-destruction if capture is imminent. In addition, it is also imperative that the powerful ship AI data cores not fall into Covenant hands, so part of this protocol involved either the removal or destruction of the ship's AI in extreme situations.

2536-2552: THE SIEGE OF THE INNER COLONIES Covenant forces swarmed into the Inner Colonies. For several years the war fell into a pattern: humans emerged victorious from isolated battles-typically during ground operations-but at a horrible cost. In space combat, the humans lost at a precipitous rate, and one by one, the colonies fell. 2552: HALO Covenant forces arrived at Reach and obliterated Earth's last major military stronghold. The battered cruiser, the Pillar of Autumn, fled the devastation, carrying with it the sole surviving SPARTAN. The SPARTANs-an elite unit of supercommandoes, equipped with the fearsome MJOLNIR assault armor-were created as the ultimate soldiers.

Now, only one SPARTAN remains to carry the fight to the enemy. In accordance with the Cole Protocol, Captain Jacob Keyes-the Autumn's commanding officer-plotted a random, long-distance jump, hoping to lure the Covenant fleet away from Earth. After deactivating the drive, the Autumn dropped into a distant, uncharted system. There was a Covenant fleet in the system as well, near a planet-sized ring-shaped construct, "Halo."

-END MICROSOFT ARTICLE-

During the same year, many other things in the Halo universe took place.

Operation: FIRST STRIKE - a massive assualt plan by which a few SPARTANS, humans, and one captured Covenant ship-attached to a UNSC one-would take down a massive refit station (the Unyielding Hierophant) and obliterate a 500 ship Covenant fleet.

The Covenant finally find Earth.

Humans find the Covenant's Mobile Holy City of High Charity.

Another Halo is found and deactivated.

====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.

The SPARTAN Project
Several decades before contact with the Covenant was made, the UNSC military embarked on a secret project to create a group of elite soldiers that would deal with occasional unrest in the Colonies. Code-named SPARTANs, these genetically enhanced troops were trained from the age of six into a life of battle, and became a great asset against the Covenant. 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.

All SPARTANs were given special armor designated MJOLNIR Mark V, which, in laymen’s terms, can increase their strength and speed. They were the only ones who could wear it, as those without the proper SPARTAN body training or body augmentations (like the SPARTAN upgrades) killed themselves with strength-enhanced convulsions, this is shown through a vicious scene in Halo: The Fall of Reach where an ordinary marine is testing out the armour and is told to move his right arm to his chest. Without the special enhancements that the SPARTANs have, his arm is thrown at an incredible speed above his head and moves past his shoulder, shattering the bones in it. He is then thrown into a series of convulsions and is killed.

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. 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. Worse still, the Master Chief thinks that all of the SPARTANs but himself are killed on the surface of the planet (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 makes a blind slipspace jump, and emerges in the vicinity of an unexplored and remarkable world: Halo. Although considered a blind jump, the Pillar of Autumns AI, Cortana, found the coordinates in a Covenant battleship and decided to make a blind jump, again revealing Halo.