Ok, I am planning on writing a fic that will take place after Halo 2 (basically, my version of Halo 3). You do not need to know anything about Halo to read this fic. I have been hard at work at preparing a premise that will give you ALL the background story up until now along with the characters and races in the game. Of course, this includes MAJOR SPOILERS to the game. Here's the premise so you can get an idea of what occured up until this point. Chapter one should be up soon...

First, here are the main characters of the fic along with pictures and descriptions...

The Master Chief (John-117 , last name unknown and deleted)- The formal name for the protagonist in the Halo series. He is most often referred to as the Master Chief, presumably short for Master Chief Petty Officer, the highest enlisted rank in the United States Navy. He is known to Covenant as the Demon. In the game series he is always portrayed in his MJOLNIR battle armor which has the effect of never revealing his face, using Mark V armor in Halo: Combat Evolved and upgrading to Mark VI during Halo 2.

Master Chief

Cortana- Cortana is a "smart" artificial intelligence, which grants her the ability to learn and adapt, but also leaving open the possibility of Rampancy. She was constructed from the cloned brain of Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN project. Her primary mission was to assist the SPARTANs in the capture of the Covenant High Prophets, and then to "negotiate" either a truce or peace treaty. Cortana has no physical form. However, she maintains the ability to communicate a strong female voice through available communications systems, and, if possible, project a holographic image of herself. Originally, the chosen image is that of a female human with short hair; her skin is composed of purple energy. Later, she adapts to a similar figure, but with longer hair. Originally, the core of Cortana was contained in a disk, which can be inserted to most any system; later upgrades, however, provide her with the ability to enter any system by merely touching it. Cortana was designed to infiltrate any security system, and once she is physically inside, there is little that can stop her from taking absolute control. Aside from that, she is very proficient in the coordination and use of UNSC and later Covenant military hardware. Because the UNSC's primary use of artificial intelligence is to oversee the targeting of point-defense weaponry used in space battles, Cortana can operate ships and space stations by herself. But, for Cortana at least, this is only a secondary function. Cortana has a smart, witty personality, and a good sense of humor. She has hardwired loyalty to humanity and the UNSC, but seems to be genuinely loyal in any case.

Cortana

Sergeant Avery 'Slacker' Johnson- A Marine who leads a group of human marines against Covenant and Flood assaults throughout the first and second games. He is best known for his boastful, tough-guy attitude. He also seems never to die. In the beginning of Halo 2, a gunnery sergeant on the orbital station Cairo asks him how he survived and made it back to Earth [after the destruction of the first Halo]. He answers that the information is classified. In all actuality, Sergeant Johnson survived the explosion of the first Halo becase he escaped the explosion in a Pelican dropship with an ODST (Corporal Locklear), a Navy dropship pilot (Warrant Officer Polaski), and a lieutenant from ONI (Elias Haverson). The Pelican hid in the debris of Halo before being found by Master Chief and Cortana whilst they were still flying in a Longsword fighter. As for how he survived his encounter with the Flood in the first game, the novel First Strike details how the Sergeant has a rare medical condition called Boren's Syndrome, which results from a heavy exposure to plasma (Sergeant Johnson obtained this condition when he used a crate full of plasma grenades in a past conflict against the Covenant). This condition is what saved him from the Flood. In Halo 2, he was awarded the Colonial Cross, led UNSC forces to drive the Covenant from New Mombasa and Delta Halo, was captured along with Miranda Keyes by the Covenant, but somehow managed to escape, and he eventually commandeers a Scarab and helps the Arbiter defeat Tartarus. At the end of the game, 343 Guilty Spark takes him to the floor of the Control Room and is about to argue with him when Keyes asks the Monitor about a place where all the Halo Installations can be activated.

Sergeant Johnson

Captain Jacob Keyes- Captain Jacob Keyes was the Captain of the UNSC ship Pillar of Autumn that was supposed to find the Covenant homeworld and be crewed by the SPARTAN-IIs. Unfortunately, the fall of Reach on August 30th, 2552, cut the mission short, and Keyes was forced to use his ship to lead the Covenant Fleet away from Earth (in accordance with the Cole Protocol) - he in fact lead them to Halo. As a Lieutenant Junior Grade he picked up John-117, the future Master Chief, one of the SPARTAN-II recruits in 2517. He was later promoted from Commander to Captain after his actions during the Covenant invasion of the Sigma Octanus system in 2552 (July 17 - 18). It is also believed that a Covenant tracking device that attached itself to Keyes' ship (The Iroquois) lead the Covenant to Reach. Soon after the PoA's arrival at Halo on September 19th, 2552, the PoA was abandoned and Keyes was captured by the Covenant and imprisoned in the Covenant ship Truth and Reconciliation. He was later rescued by the Master Chief on September 20th and became the leader of the human resistance on the ring. On the same day he was captured and assimilated by the Flood and absorbed into a "command" form, a (probable) offshoot of Gravemind. The SPARTAN was forced to kill Keyes in order to retrieve the neural relays stored within his brain, which contained codes critical to Cortana's planned destruction of Halo. For his actions at Halo Keyes was awarded a medal, received by his daughter Commander Miranda Keyes, the commander of the ship In Amber Clad. Lord Fleet Admiral Hood remarked about Keyes that, "the Navy has lost one of their best".

Captain Jacob Keyes

Captain Miranda Keyes- Commander Miranda Keyes is the daughter of Captain Keyes, and first appears in Halo 2. She is a Commander of the UNSC In Amber Clad in the UNSC Navy. She later turns out to be a Reclaimer, like Master Chief. She asks 343 Guilty Spark about the Halo Installations and he said that all of them would have to be activated from the Ark.

Miranda Keyes

343 Guilty Spark- 343 Guilty Spark is an artificial intelligence tasked with overseeing Installation 04, which the Covenant and the UNSC know as "Halo". Unlike other AI characters in the Halo universe, he appears to be tied to his physical body. Constructed in the Forerunner style, his body can fly and is indestructible, although vulnerable to technology such as Tartarus's hammer. The full extent of 343 Guilty Spark's control over Halo's systems is unknown. He can control the Sentinels, he can teleport around Installation 04, and he can access the ring's computer systems without physical contact. However, he seems unable to use Instalation 05's networks as well, as he shows no ability to use its teleportation ring. 343 Guilty Spark also seems to be able to interface with human computer systems if in close proximity, as he is seen downloading data from Pillar of Autumn's computers in the last level of Halo: Combat Evolved. The personality of 343 Guilty Spark is somewhat egotistical and eccentric; he often reminds himself that he "is a genius". It is possible that 343 Guilty Spark is in a state of Rampancy; although he is still accepting of his role as Monitor, his pursuit of alien knowledge does seem to go beyond his purpose. He usually hums himself a tune. He seems to prefer that his living companions remain alive, but he shows little sorrow when they die. He has a special relationship with humans, which he refers to as Reclaimers, although the true meaning of his thoughts is still unknown. 343 Guilty Spark was on the Halo for a total of 101,217 years, local time; this time has been spent maintaining the structure. He has a vast wealth of knowledge on the Flood, the Forerunners, and Halo's overall purpose. Prior to this, he was tasked with the study and containment of the Flood, and constructed other facilities to research them. About halfway into the first game, the focus shifts from fighting the Covenant to stopping 343 Guilty Spark from activating Halo and destroying all galactic sentient life. His role is significantly reduced in Halo 2, in which he only makes two appearances, once when he is introduced as the Heretic's advisor, and once during the final battle where he announces Delta Halo's firing sequence.

343 Guilty Spark

High Prophet of Truth- Little is known about the High Prophet of Truth, except that he is the final remaining top Hierarch at the end of Halo 2 who offered the former Elite Commander of Alpha Halo I-04 to become the Arbiter and ordered him to defeat the Heresy, a Rebel movement that regards Covenant teachings as false, and to retrieve the Sacred Icon/Index on Delta Halo I-05. He spearheaded genocide of the Elites so that the Brutes would replace them in society, the beginning of a New Order and a Civil War. When Gravemind teleported Master Chief to High Charity, the Prophet of Truth (who wanted him dead) betrayed the Prophet of Mercy who was wounded by a Flood Infection Form and escaped to his Forerunner flagship, but not before Master Chief follows him. The Prophet of Truth is heading for the Ark (Halo) on Earth to finish what they started.

Prophet of Truth

High Prophet of Regret- The High Prophet of Regret leads the intial, botched attack on Earth. He lands troops in New Mombasa, East African Protectorate, the only place the Covenant land on Earth. The invasion is foiled, due in part to the actions of the Master Chief, and he then flees back to Delta Halo. His action does not win him a reprieve... the Master Chief pursues and eventually assassinates him. The quality of being dead does not entirely hinder the Prophet of Regret, as he makes a final appearance later in the game (revived to a degree by the apparent Flood leader Gravemind) in which he argues with 2401 Penitent Tangent.

Similar to Prophet of Truth, but slightly younger looking

High Prophet of Mercy- The High Prophet of Mercy agrees with The High Prophet of Truth in promoting the Elite character to the Arbiter, and then sending him on a mission to kill "the real Heretic". Upon completion of his mission, he plans to invade Earth a second time (after Regret's botched invasion, this time perhaps to secure The Ark, begin the Great Journey, and wipe out the humans). Before he can succeed, he is attacked by The Flood on High Charity and infected. Seeing this, the High Prophet of Truth tells Tartarus, "Let him be!" and then to Mercy "The Great Journey waits for no one brother...Not even you." The Prophet of Mercy tells the Master Chief where Truth is going saying that this time "none of you will be left behind" and dies.

Looks similar to Prophet of Truth except much older

The Arbiter- The rank of Arbiter, in the video game Halo 2, is bestowed upon a Covenant Elite by the High Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret during a time of need. The Arbiter acts as a sort of field general, going on missions for the Prophets and during incidents such as the Taming of the Hunters, the Grunt Rebellion, and most recently, the threat of Heresy, he has emerged to lead the Covenant to victory. Many, especially Grunts, see the Arbiter as their Savior, and their peers consider him the 'Will of the Prophets' or, in his military role, the 'Blade of the Prophets'. Every Arbiter was 'created and consumed in times of extraordinary crisis', and has been martyred in the undertaking of his momentous tasks. The corpses (or perhaps only memorials of some sort) are housed in identical caskets stacked upon each other in the great Mausoleum of the Arbiters; in the center of this room a floating pod contains the sacred armor of the Arbiter, highly decorative and fully functional despite its apparent age. The mausoleum houses 168 visible caskets (and more may be set underground), reaching high into the air, and references of Arbiters settling the Grunt Rebellion and aiding the Taming of the Hunters would indicate that the office has existed for quite some time - before the Covenant as we know it was fully formed and its castes defined. Seeing how the Arbiter can only be an Elite (the characteristic armor is tailored to the Elite anatomy), it is not unlikely that the tradition of calling upon the Arbiter existed as a part of Elite culture before the species joined the Prophets in the Covenant, but this is of course pure speculation. As a member of the Covenant, it is believed that the Arbiter is held in the capacity of maintaining the integrity of the Covenant. The only three events know to warrant an Arbiter were the Taming of the Hunters, the Grunt Rebellion, and the Guilty Spark Heresy of Installation 04; the Arbiter is required to a) convert/assimilate a new race, b) bring a renegade race back to the faith, or c) destroy separatist portions of the largely stalwart races. Of course, he also serves as a political tool, an embodiment of the Hierarchs' power as well as an example of true faith, a warrior-martyr showing loyalty at the aforementioned times of division.

In the events of Halo 2, the Arbiter's role is filled by an Elite who was in command of the forces that pursued the Pillar of Autumn in the first game. This Elite was the Supreme Commander of the Particular Justice Fleet. Because he failed to protect the 'sacred ring' from the humans, he was branded with the Mark of Shame and sentenced to be hung by his entrails, his corpse to be paraded through the holy city of High Charity. However, rather than have him slain outright, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy gave him a chance to regain his lost honor and serve the Covenant again. He donned the armor of the Arbiter and became the Covenant's equivalent to the UNSC's Spartan IIs including the Master Chief. During the game, the Prophets slowly begin to replace the Elites with Brutes, and eventually they call for a genocide of all Elites so that Brutes may replace them in society: a New Order of Imperial Government. This sparks a Covenant civil war. On one side, there are the loyalists: the Brutes, the Drones, and the Jackals, led by the Prophets. On the other, the Elites lead the Hunters and the Grunts. The Arbiter, being an Elite, after meeting the Master Chief while being held captive for interrogation by Gravemind naturally sided with these separatists and became a central figure in the Covenant civil war. This breakaway faction even manages to secure an uneasy alliance with their enemies, the Human United Nations Space Command to stop the mutual threat of the Halos being set off. At the end of the game, the Arbiter engages Tartarus, the Brute Chieftain, in combat over the Index and the detonation of Delta Halo. With the aid of Sergeant Johnson, the Arbiter triumphs.

The Arbiter

Arbiter

Spec Ops Commander- A veteran Elite who is missing most of his left mandibles. He wears the white armor of a Special Operations (Spec Ops) commander. He has experience fighting the Flood (he even comments that their stench is familiar), meaning he fought on and escaped from the first Halo and fights beside the Arbiter throughout Halo 2. However, he often leaves the Arbiter on his own or with lesser Elites to go fight other (unseen) battles throughout the game. At one point Tartarus references this pattern of behavior and calls the Spec Ops Commander a coward. He apparently holds a position on the High Council since he is the one that speaks to the Hierarchs about the Brutes replacing Elites as the bodyguards for the Prophets. "Half-Jaw's" final fate is unknown, but it is highly probable that he survived the events of Halo 2, but was last seen leaving the Arbiter to confront Tartarus and going off to capture a Covenant Cruiser belonging to the Brutes. The Spec Ops Commander is to the Arbiter what Sergeant Johnson is to the Master Chief.

Spec Ops Commander

(Imagine this guy with one side of his mandibles missing)

Spec Op and Arbiter

(The one on the left is him, the right one is the Arbiter)

Tartarus- Tartarus is the most prominent of the Brute commanders of the Covenant, easily recognized by his white hair and distinctive mohawk. He represents his entire species as their Chieftain: rough, arrogant, disdainful of the Covenant Elite, and totally dedicated to the Prophets' "Great Journey". Tartarus made his first chronological appearance in the novel Halo: First Strike, in the chamber of the High Prophet of Truth. He had scoured the wreckage of the Covenant attack coordination station Unyielding Hierophant after its destruction at the hands of the Master Chief. Tartarus reported the Covenant Fleet destroyed, and an artifact lost. In a beserker rage, Tartarus killed the inept Covenant soldiers responsible for the debacle. In Halo 2, Tartarus branded the Arbiter with the Mark of Shame and took him to the Mausoleum for an execution. When the Arbiter was pardoned and promoted, Tartarus was obviously displeased, but kept silent out of respect for the Prophets. Tartarus provided aerial support for the Arbiter during his mission to kill the Heretic leader near Basis, and reappeared when the Arbiter tried to retrieve the Index of Delta Halo. While he mocked the Arbiter, he himself flew in a Phantom and never sets foot on Flood-infested ground. On the Prophets' orders, Tartarus eventually took action against the Arbiter, stealing the Index and pushing him to his (supposed) death in an endless pit. The Brute then returned with the Index and captives Miranda Keyes and Sgt. Avery Johnson to Delta Halo. While trying to get the Reclaimer (Miranda Keyes) to cooperate, Tartarus was confronted by the Arbiter. Blind to the Prophets' deception, he activated Delta Halo and prepared to guard the Index from all comers. In the final showdown, Tartarus puts up a difficult fight with his massive one-hit-kill electromagnetic "Gravity Warhammer" and his unique fog-like energy shield that is almost impervious to damage (it can be taken out with a Beam Rifle), but ultimately is killed through the combined efforts of the Arbiter, several Elites, and Sgt. Johnson, successfully delaying the destruction of the galaxy.

Tartarus

Gravemind- The Gravemind is seemingly an alien entity of The Flood in Halo 2. Gravemind remains mostly unknown; however, due to its short appearances in Halo 2, a small amount of data about it and the nature of the Flood parasite can be inferred. Gravemind appears to be the controlling intelligence behind the parasitical Flood hive. In this way, he appears similar to a puppetmaster. Gravemind appears to be close to omnipresence, in the sense that he appears not to occupy any single location, but rather seems to be distributed throughout a large part of the hidden underground caverns that encircle the Halo "ringworld". Gravemind also seems to harbor an intelligence approaching omniscience, since he appears to be capable of absorbing the knowledge of all Flood hosts. In this way, the Gravemind resembles a god. Whether there is more than one Gravemind is open to speculation; it is possible that on each Halo ringworld, assuming each one has a Flood infestation, a controlling Gravemind could be formed. (While some believe that Captian Keys was a form of a gravemind he is actually a form of brain flood.) When the cinematic depicting the Master Chief and the Arbiter begins, we are also treated to the sight of the apparently deceased Prophet of Regret and an AI similar to 343 Guilty Spark, 2401 Penitent Tangent, both of whom the Gravemind has captured and has reanimated for his own nefarious (i.e. unknown) purposes. Also, the Gravemind we see in the game, on Installation 05, appears to be capable of utilizing Halo's teleportation grid to transport anything and indeed himself (or at least a part of himself) anywhere on the ring and beyond to a limited distance. Being a Flood organism, how he uses the grid at all is a mystery, as only A.I.s Cortana and 343 Guilty Spark could access it in the previous game, on a different Halo. Still, there is much more about this enigmatic character that we do not know. However, as the Gravemind has the use of the monitor of installation 05, 2401 Penitent Tangent, this might be able to explain his strange teleportation abilty. Gravemind more than once speaks in rhyme. When referring to the Master Chief and the Arbiter, respectively, he says

This one is machine and nerve, and has his mind concluded.
This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded.
In the post-credits end cinematic of Halo 2, Gravemind recites this verse to Cortana:

Silence fills the empty grave now that I am gone,
But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on.
I will ask and you will answer.
His interest in her, besides her much improved body rendering, is unknown, although it seems to be related to Cortana's vast wealth of knowlege, being an AI construct.

Pic later, imagine a venus fly trap without the teeth and leaves and it's giant and has tentacles

Lord Hood- Leader of Earth's army and blockade

Lord Hood

Here are some very important races, weapons, and vehicles that you will see during the fic

Covenant

Guns

Guns Cntd..

Guns Again

Vehicles

Vehicles Cntd

Pelican Dropship

Phantom Dropship

Flood- The ultimate enemy in the game, greater than the Covenant. The Flood are parasites that start out as small balloon things but when they infect something they take control of it, able to read its thoughts and control it.

Flood

And finally, here's the plot analysis I wrote. I spent so much time in preparing you for this fic that it's sickening so you better read!!!

In the 26th century, humanity draws the wrath of a conglomerate of alien races. This "Covenant" is intent on exterminating the human race, which they view as a religious affront. Still an fledgling interstellar race, humanity is constantly pushed back by the overwhelming numbers and furor of the Covenant. The only thing keeping the human race fighting is the fact that the Covenant do not know the location of Earth. Instead all operations are carried out from the planet Reach.

Ships in danger of capture are required to self-destruct or make "blind" hyperspace jumps away from Earth. The humans do have a few tricks up their sleeves, though. The best is the SPARTAN-II program, designed to forge elite soldiers through genetic modification. A plan is launched to use the SPARTAN-II soldiers to infiltrate a Covenant ship and discover the location of the alien homeworld. But the plan fails, and the SPARTAN-II soldiers return to Reach for cybernetic modification to attempt the plan again.

But the Covenant are just as devious, and launch a surprise attack on Reach, destroying many of the human fleet ships. Only the Pillar of Autumn manages to escape, making a blind jump away from Earth in the hope that the Covenant will follow and not search Reach for the location of Earth.

The plan works, but the Covenant make it to the jump point before the Pillar of Autumn, and launch another attack. In desperation, Captain Keyes orders the "Hushed Coffin" unsealed, and the last surviving SPARTAN-II soldier, known only by his rank of Master Chief, is awakened from cryogenic stasis. His orders are to protect the Pillar of Autumn's AI construct, Cortana, from capture, so that the Covenant can't retrieve Earth's location from it. The Pillar of Autumn is abandoned, and the Master Chief and the surviving crew members (under the command of Sergeant Johnson) find themselves stranded on an artificial ring world, Halo. Faced with superior numbers and a seemingly inexhaustible alien fleet, the survivors must make their final stand on this ancient alien world. But Halo hides a secret, The Flood, a weapon so powerful it could destroy the galaxy.

The Flood overwhelm both the human and Covenant armies when they discover them inside an ancient Forerunner building, killing many and causing chaos within the planet. The Master Chief manages to escape the forerunner fortress only to find the Flood have reached the surface as well. They soon meet up with 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of this particular Halo. Guilty Spark refers to the Master Chief as the reclaimer and the only one capable of putting an end to the Flood threat. Cortana is left in the databanks of Halo’s computer while the Master Chief accompanies the Monitor.

Guilty Spark leads the Master Chief deep into Halo’s interior, in a place called The Library, where he must retrieve a small key-like object called the Index which can be used to “activate” Halo. The Master Chief manages to get it, but when he finally makes it to the Control Center, Cortana stops him and informs him that activating Halo is not a good idea. She uses Halo’s archives to learn that the Forerunners built it in order to house the Flood, and when activated, it obliterates all calcium based life forms within radius (humans, Covenant, everything). There were apparently seven rings built throughout the galaxy for this purpose. Spark is flabbergasted that they didn’t know of this, believing that the Reclaimer should know standard protocols.

Cortana aids the Master Chief in escaping the Control Room and destroying some key generators to buy them time before Spark can activate the ring. They then use Halo’s teleportation grid to go to the crashed Covenant Cruiser, Truth and Reconciliation. They have a lock in that Keyes is there, but by the time they make it to him, he’s already dead and has turned into a Flood. They need his neural codes in order to activate the fusion reactors of the crashed Pillar of Autumn and destroy Halo.

The Chief retrieves the codes and takes a banshee back to the crashed cruiser. There, he runs into some resistance from Spark, who tries to stop him. Flood and Covenant also inhabit the cruiser. The Chief manages to activate the reactors and then makes a daring ride by warthog to a shuttle docked in the hold. He just manages to escape Halo as the reactors explode, completely destroying the ring. Cortana does a scan when the explosion dies down to find out no one else survived…or so they thought. Guilty Spark floats away from the destruction, determined to find a new Reclaimer and activate one of the other Halos to destroy the Flood that have been awakened.

After the events on the Forerunner ring world Halo, Master Chief SPARTAN-117 returns home to Earth with the AI construct Cortana. The war with the Covenant forces is still not going well, despite the destruction of an entire fleet at Halo, but the Master Chief needs a refit. Armed with the Mjolnir Armor Mark VI, he is on his way to a decorations ceremony with the thought-to-be-dead Sergeant Johnson(he and a few marines managed to escape in a Pelican minutes before the blast. Sergeant Johnson also reveals that he suffered intense plasma poisoning which immunized him from the Flood). Lord Hood gives out medals for their courage on Halo, and hands Captain Keyes’s daughter, Miranda, an award in his place.

Suddenly, Covenant forces emerge from the Slipstream into Earth space. But something is wrong: the fleet is much smaller than the one used to destroy Reach, humanity's former frontline stronghold. The Master Chief and Cortana, along with Commander Miranda Keyes and the crew of In Amber Clad, must fight off the Covenant and protect Earth.

The Chief lands on Earth and battles the Covenant on the human’s homeworld. Apparently, the Prophet of Regret disobeyed the Prophets of Truth and Mercy and came to Earth prematurely. The marines learn that he is aboard one of the vessels and tell the Master Chief to get aboard it and capture the Prophet.

In New Mombosa, Africa, the Chief comes across a large four legged Covenant tank called a Scarab. It proves to be a formidable enemy, destroying large areas with a mortar beam on its mouth. The Chief manages to destroy it, but Regret is now planning to leave Earth. As his ship prepares for a slip space jump, The Amber Clad (containing many marines, The Chief, Cortana, Miranda, and Johnson) flies into its slip space field and the vessel takes the Amber Clad with it. The force of the jump destroys New Mombosa as it goes.

Meanwhile, the Prophet leaders of the Covenant are not pleased with the Elite Commander that allowed the Master Chief to destroy Halo, and he is branded a heretic. But even Heretics have their uses. He is to become the new Arbiter, a warrior for the Prophets' will, destined to die in glorious battle like all the other Arbiters before him.

The Prophets send the Arbiter to Threshold, the large gas planet that Halo 04 (the first halo) orbited. His mission is to assassinate a rebel elite that is preaching that the Prophets are false. There, the Arbiter and a team of spec-op elites must find the Heretic leader and assassinate him. It proves hard as the Flood have managed to inhabit the planet as well. The Arbiter finally meets with the Heretic Leader who informs him that the Elites are blind and the Prophets are wrong.

The Arbiter asks where this information started and as if on cue, 343 Guilty Spark emerges. It apparently found the heretic leader and opened his eyes to the truth. The Arbiter does not give in to the truth and a fight ensues. The Arbiter manages to kill the Heretic Leader, but Tartarus shows up and snatches Guilty Spark. Thinking that it’s the Oracle the Prophets spoke of, the Arbiter wonders what Tartarus is doing, but he says they must go.

Later, Regret’s cruiser exits slip space along with the Amber Clad and some rubble from the city. An object comes into view up ahead…another Halo. Miranda realizes that this is what her father found and asks Cortana to give her all the information and schematics that she has on the first one. Miranda then sends Master Chief and the rest of the marines down onto the surface of Halo in drop pods. His mission is still to subdue the Prophet of Regret and question him.

The Chief makes it to a holy temple where Cortana learns that Regret plans to “activate that holy ring to cleanse a path into the divine beyond.” The new mission is to stop Regret, but Miranda reads that he can’t activate Halo without an Index. She and Johnson decide to retrieve the index while Master Chief stops Regret. As the Chief nears his chambers, Cortana intercepts a message in which Regret apologizes to the other Prophets for his premature assault on Earth. He did not anticipate humans to be there, bringing up much confusion to Cortana.

In the space above Halo 05, a large planet-like ship called High Charity enters the space above. It is apparently the Covenant’s Holy City. Truth responds to Regret in a message stating : “Your haste has jeopardized the fulfillment of our Covenant, threatened our Grand Design, that you should be spared a public display of our contempt is thanks only to Mercy and his wise counsel.” Cortana mentions that killing Regret could actually be a favor to Truth.

As the Master Chief arrives at the Temple, thousands of Covenant battleships appear in the skyline of the ring world. Cortana mentions that it is the largest Covenant fleet anyone has ever seen. She urges the Chief to hurry and he rushes inside the temple. Inside, the Master Chief runs into the Honor Gaurds; special armored elites who protect the hierarchs. He finally comes face to face with Regret and manages to kill him.

Cortana informs him after that a Covenant Phantom is preparing to fire upon the Temple. The Chief rushes outside, sees the Phantom, and rushes off. The Phantom fires and the Chief is blown into the lake below the temple. It seems as if he’s drowning, but a tentacle comes from the depths of the water and grabs him. It remarks that this is not his grave but he is welcome in it…

Meanwhile, the Arbiter is walking through High Charity to meet with the Hierarchs. As he goes, the Honor Guards are seen handing their armor over to the Brutes. He enters the sanctum of the Hierarchs to see them holding an audience with the Specs Op commander. They inform him that the death of Regret has shown them that the Elites can no longer guarantee the safety of the Hierarchs and so the Brutes will take over. The Spec Ops leader tries to tell them about how the Brutes can’t be trusted, but Truth dismisses him.

Truth tells the Arbiter that the loss of the first Halo filled their hearts with grief, but they renewed their faith in the prophecy that other rings would be found. They glance outside and admire Delta Halo in the distance. Truth then congratulates the Arbiter for aiding in the capture of the Oracle, Guilty Spark, who they believe knows the Holy secret to the ring worlds. They asked it questions while he was gone and now believe the path to salvation rides on the retrival of the “Sacred Icon”. However, unknown to them, the sacred icon is actually the Index that activates the ring. The Prophets tell the Arbiter to go to Delta Halo and retrieve the Scared Icon so they may begin “The Great Journey”, what they believe to be a path to salvation.

Tartarus and his Brutes drop the Arbiter off on a path to the Library. Beforehand, Tartarus informs the Arbiter that the “demon” Master Chief is the one who killed Regret. The Arbiter manages to lower the shield and gets into the Library. There he comes across the Spec Ops leader and informs him that he must retrieve the Sacred Icon. The Spec ops leader and his elites agree to help. After taking a flood infested journey, the Arbiter manages to make it to the Library. There, he witnesses Miranda Keyes retrieving the Index while Johnson stands watch.

The Arbiter turns on his cloaking device and sneaks up on them. Johnson realizes they are in trouble and fires at he shadows. The Arbiter appears and head butts him. Miranda is then knocked to the floor. Tartarus appears with his Brutes and uses his grav-hammer to pull Miranda and the Index to him. He congratulates the Arbiter on his good work. The Arbiter tells Tartarus that the Sacred Icon is his responsibility but Tartarus says it isn’t anymore. He then smiles, exclaiming that a bloody fate awaits the elites and he will lead him to it. The Arbiter tells him that the Prophets will kill him when they find out but Tartarus informs him that the Prophets ordered him to do it. Apparently, the Prophets want the elites out in favor of the Brutes. Tartarus then knocks the Arbiter into the shaft where the Index was.

The Arbiter wakes to find himself wrapped in a tentacle. The Master Chief is also alongside him. Cortana wonders what has a hold of them and they look to see a giant plant like monster. He says that he is the monument to all their sins. (No one truly knows what he is but I believe him to be the collective brain of the flood where all the information of the host’s brains taken over go) It’s known as Gravemind, and it notices everything about the two it holds.

The Arbiter demands to be released but Gravemind says that it’s his turn to talk. With that, two more tentacles rise. One is wrapped around another monitor (like Guilty Spark). He calls himself 2041 Penitent Tangent and he is the monitor of Delta Halo. The other tentacle holds a flood-like Prophet of Regret. They hold a conversation which goes as follows:

2401: A Reclaimer? Here? At last! We have much to do. This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak!

Regret: Stay were you are! Nothing can be done until my sermon is complete!

2401: Not true. This installation has a successful utilization record of one- point-two trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand.

Regret: Of all the objects our Lords left behind, there are none so worthless as these Oracles! They know nothing of the Great Journey!

2401: And you know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated complete disregard for even the most basic of protocols!

Gravemind explains that 2401’s containment and Regret’s Great Journey are the same. He informs the Arbiter that though the Prophets think the Great Journey will give them freedom from a doomed existence, they will find no salvation on Delta Halo. He says that those who built Halo (the Forerunners) knew what they made, and in activating Halo all will perish as they did. (This leads to the conclusion that the Forerunners did not know how to stop the flood, so they activated the halos and wiped themselves out to stop them).

The Chief agrees with Gravemind and informs the Arbiter that Halo is a weapon. The Arbiter is reluctant, but Gravemind has a plan. He says the Index needs to be retrieved in order to stop the doom to come, but it must be found. So, he decides to send each of them on a different path to search for it. He concludes this statement by saying that though they are foes, this ring will make them brothers.

High Charity is floating between the planet and Halo. A battle rages around it as Covenant ships fight each other. Inside, the city isn't better. Brute guards in their new red and gold armour stand in front of the Council chambers. A mob of Grunts and Jackals cover the stairs and literally climb the walls. The Brutes use their spears to smash anyone who gets within range. Inside the chamber, Truth and Mercy are broadcasting to the Covenant fleet.

Truth acknowledges that the release of the flood was unknown, but there is no need to panic; in fact all of the Covenant should savor this moment. He holds up the Index exclaiming that the Sacred Icon has been found and their path to salvation is nigh, and not even the flood can stop it. Gravemind teleports the Master Chief directly into Truth’s chamber. He notices this and orders the Brutes to kill him. The chief kills them and then places Cortana into High Charity’s computer system. She tells him that Truth has the Index and he must reclaim it. He tries to take her back out but Cortana says it would be easier to track him if she stays in the system.

Apparently, the grunts have sides with the elites as the Brutes, Jackals, and drones are all fighting against the other two races. The Chief makes it to the holding pens where he rescues some marines to aid him in his search for Truth. As they proceed, Cortana informs the Chief that the Amber Clad has crashed into High Charity. She finds it odd that someone is piloting it and wonders who is. Truth and Tartarus constantly talk over the intercom as they go, making them easier to track. Truth mentions that the Brutes have his blessing to lead and the elites should submit. Tartarus informs his brutes to destroy all that oppose them.

The Covenant seems to be more apt on killing each other, so the Master Chief makes it through without having to worry about thousands of resistance. He is too late though, as Tartarus and his Brutes drag Miranda and Johnson onto the Phantom hangar with Truth and Mercy. He tells his brutes to split the two humans into separate phantoms, and Truth informs Tartarus that the hopes of the Covenant rest in him succeeding in activating Halo. Tartarus says he won’t fail him. Suddenly, flood infection forms storm the hangar. They made it to High Charity by using the Amber Clad. The Brutes stop a lot of them, but one slips through and attacks Mercy. Tartarus goes to help him but Truth tells him to stop, as the Great Journey waits for no one. Tartarus and his brutes board the Phantoms to head to Delta Halo while Truth boards another to head to a Forerunner ship in the middle of the city.

Meanwhile, the Arbiter is dropped into a section of Halo. He learns of the Brute uprising and wants revenge. The Arbiter makes it though a large portion of Halo slaying many brutes. Soon, a wraith approaches him and the Spec Ops leader comes out. He wonders what has happened and the Arbiter informs him that the Brutes have murdered the Elite Council. The two then look up to see Tartarus and his brutes shoving Miranda into the Control Room with the Index.

On High Charity, the Master Chief makes it to the hangar to see the Phantoms fly off. He notices a struggling Mercy on the ground and approaches him. He asks him where Truth is going and Mercy informs him that he is heading to Earth to finish what they started. Cortana realizes that the ship in the middle of the city is of Forerunner origin. She also notes that if Truth leads the Covenant Fleet to Earth, they won’t stand a chance. She informs the Chief that he must stop Truth. The Master Chief isn’t sure of what to do because Tartarus has the Index, Miranda, and Johnson and plans to activate Halo.

Cortana tells him that she will detonate Amber Clad’s reactor just like she did with the Pillar of Autumn if it’s activated. It will take out Halo if it comes to that. The Chief goes to retrieve her but she stops him. She says she can’t risk a remote detonation and so she must remain in the computer system. Flood begin to arrive in Pelicans from Delta Halo. Cortana realizes that Gravemind used them as a diversion so the Flood could get to High Charity. She tells the Chief to get to the Forerunner ship.

Master Chief blasts his way through the flood as Cortana mentions that another presence is fighting back in the computer system (later learned to be Gravemind). As he nears the ship, Cortana informs him that High Charity is powered by the Forerunner ship’s engines and they are not so much as taking off as they are just releasing it. The Chief makes it to a grav lift that takes him into the Forerunner ship. As he leaves, he promises to come back for Cortana when he’s done, but she tells him not to make a promise he can’t keep.

Meanwhile, the Arbiter informs the Spec ops leader that he must stop Tartarus. The Spec ops leader informs him that a Scarab tank is nearby and should have enough firepower to blow the doors of the Control Room open. The Arbiter heads up to the beach to get to the hangar. On his way, he comes across some elites and grunts who inform him that the Hunters are also joining in their cause. The three races fight their way through brutes, jackals, and drones until the Arbiter gets to the hangar.

The marines have managed to subdue their brute captors and Johnson has control of the Scarab. He doesn’t fire on the Arbiter, but tells him they must work together. The Arbiter protects the Scarab in a banshee as it makes its way to the Control Room. There, it blasts the doors open and the Arbiter enters.

Inside, Tartarus is at the center of the control room. He's holding Commander Keys physically trying to get her to insert the Index. A brute squad stands by. One of them holds 343 Guilty Spark. The Arbiter enters the area and tells Tartarus to put the Icon down. Tartarus doesn’t want to disobey the hierarchs but the Arbiter tells him that there are things about halo even the hierarchs do not understand. Tartarus says that what he is saying is heresy, but the Arbiter tries to prove it.

He asks Guilty Spark what the purpose of the Halos is, and he replies that they are weapons of last resort built by the Forerunners to eliminate potential Flood hosts, thereby rendering the parasite harmless. He then asks what happened to the Forerunners and Spark explains that after exhausting every other strategic option, his creators activated the rings. They and all additional sentient life in three radii of the galactic center died...as planned. The Arbiter turns to Tartarus and says that the Prophets have betrayed them.

Tartarus hesitates for a moment and then shoves Miranda’s hand down pushing the Index in and activating the ring. He says that the Great Journey has begun and the Brutes, not the Elites, shall be the Prophet’s escorts. Guilty Spark remakrs that the primary generators are coming online. Miranda tells him to shut them down but he says protocol doesn’t allow him to interfere with the sequence. She asks how to stop it and learns that she can remove the index. Meanwhile, the Arbiter engages Tartarus who attacks everyone with his hammer. After a long battle, Tartarus falls to the Arbiter’s hands.

Commander Keyes jumps and ducks across rotating platforms until she gets an opening to jump onto the central structure. Running across it, she snatches the Index. The whole complex shudders. A bolt of energy fires from the top. It heads straight to the center of the ring and collides with a ball of energy that's been growing there. There is a large explosion. When it clears, Halo and everything around it is intact and unharmed. Inside the control center, Keyes is looking at a new hologram that's appeared where the Index had been.

She asks what it is and Spark explains that Delta Halo is communicating with the other halos. It then explains that in the event of an unexpected shutdown, the entire system will move to standby status. All remaining platforms are now waiting for remote detonation. Miranda asks if the remote detonation is on Delta Halo, but Spark says it’s on the Ark. The Arbiter asks where that is and Guilty Spark prepares to speak…

Meanwhile, the Master Chief is riding on the outside of the Forerunner ship as it exits slip space near Earth. Lord Hood orders his men to fire on it, but Master Chief contacts him. Lord Hood wonders what he’s doing on the ship and the Chief responds that he is finishing this fight…

After the credits, we see that Gravemind has made it to High Charity. He approaches Cortana and says she must answer some questions. She agrees…