First Battle of Requiem

*Looking for the Second Battle of Requiem?*

Belligerents| United Nations Space Command | * Jul 'Mdama's Covenant
* Prometheans

Commanders| * AN Danielle-A327
* CAPT Andrew Del Rio
* CDR Thomas Lasky
* CDR Sarah Palmer
* MCPO John-117
* Jul 'Mdama

Strength| * 1 *Charon*-class light frigate
	+ UNSC *Forward Unto Dawn*
* UNSC *Infinity*
* Ten *Strident*-class heavy frigates
* Two *Paris*-class heavy frigates
* 6021 Marines
* Dozens of Spartan fireteams
	+ Gypsy Company
* 1 Spartan-II commando
	+ John-117
* 1 third-generation AI
	+ Cortana
* At least two *RCS*-class armored cruisers
* Dozens of *CRS*-class light cruisers

Ground forces* Numerous lances

Promethean forces* 1 Cryptum
* 1 Warrior-Servant
	+ Ur-Didact
* *Mantle's Approach*
* Thousands of Promethean AIs
* 4 Particle Cannons

Casualties| * 1 *Charon*-class light frigate
	+ UNSC *Forward Unto Dawn*
* Hundreds of Marines
* Aine
* Both *Paris*-class heavy frigates
* Unknown number of Spartans
* Thousands of infantry
* Unknown number of Promethean AIs
* 4 Particle Cannons

"*In service of Forerunner Shield World designate Requiem.*"
—Cortana to John-117 while in Requiem's Cartographer

"*If you haven't mastered even these primitives, then Man has not attained the Mantle. Your ascendance may yet be prevented.*"
—The Ur-Didact to John-117
The **First Battle of Requiem** was a fierce battle between the UNSC, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and Promethean forces. However, during the battle, the Covenant and the Prometheans allied themselves against the UNSC.

## Background

After the Battle of Installation 00 the rear half of the frigate *Forward Unto Dawn* was lost in uncharted space with John-117 and Cortana on board. The Spartan placed himself in cryo-sleep while Cortana sent out a distress beacon. The ship drifted for over four years before it reached a Forerunner Shield World. Surrounding the installation was a massive Covenant fleet that had been outside the planet for almost three years. The wreckage of the Forward Unto Dawn was picked up on the fleet's sensors and at the command of Fleetmaster Jul 'Mdama, boarding parties intercepted it.

## Battle

### Clearing the Dawn

Meanwhile, Cortana woke John-117 from cryo-sleep and the pair began fighting their way to the ship's airlocks, with the intent of activating the ship's hull defenses. Emerging on the hull they found that the missile silo was blocked and had to be manually activated. After clearing the deck of several Covenant Remnant boarding parties, the Spartan activated the silo, destroying a *CRS*-class light cruiser. While still on the hull, the planet appeared to scan John-117 and then opened a large portal on the planet's surface, dragging the remains of the Forward Unto Dawn and the majority of the Covenant fleet into the planet's gravity well. Debris from the *Dawn* struck a second *CRS*-class light cruiser, causing catastrophic damage and destroying it.

### First Hours

"*The time has come to enter the Great Light! The Promethean awakening is nigh! Our reward is at hand!*"
—Sangheili broadcasting a call to arms on the Covenant battlenet.
The Master Chief woke within the wreckage of UNSC *Forward Unto Dawn* on the interior surface of the planet, surrounded by debris from destroyed ships and dead or dying Covenant. After learning that Cortana's condition had seriously deteriorated, the Spartan set out across the planet's interior surface. He came up with a plan to capture a Covenant landing pad, commandeer one of the surviving cruisers, and escape the planet. The Covenant fleet had already begun landing troops across the surface however. Phantoms deployed infantry, Ghosts, and Shades. Covenant infantry began fortifying positions and entering Forerunner structures. Fierce firefights began occurring as Sentinels attempted to resist these incursions. As John-117 and Cortana fought their way through the Covenant army, Cortana picked up a phantom signal, piquing her interest. Eventually they arrived at a Forerunner structure, within which was a local Cartographer that identified the planet as Requiem. The Cartographer also revealed that the signal was coming from the core of the planet, causing John to suspect this was where the Covenant were landing troops from.

After retrieving Cortana from the Cartographer he set off again, fighting through increasingly heavy Covenant resistance until reaching another Forerunner terminal in a complex called the Cathedral. This terminal showed that the phantom signal was actually human in origin, coming from UNSC *Infinity*. At that moment, dozens of Promethean AIs appeared, surrounding them. Just as the Prometheans started to become hostile, Cortana succeeded in opening a portal and the pair escaped.

### Battle of Haven

"*This is Requiem's core alright. But* Infinity *is definitely not here.*"
—Cortana upon reaching the interior surface of Haven.
 File:Forerunner 12.png
John-117 and Cortana emerged on the interior surface of Requiem's core. The pair quickly began encountering hostile Prometheans. The conflict escalated further as three *CRS*-class light cruisers emerged from Slipspace inside the core and immediately deployed Phantoms, Ghosts, Orbital Insertion Pods, and infantry. Covenant forces quickly engaged the Prometheans in a fierce battle. After crossing the rocky terrain and fighting through both sides, the pair reached a vantage point from which they could observe the core of the planet. The pair discovered that while it was the source of UNSC *Infinity*'s signal, the ship was not there. What was there was a relay structure that was transmitting and amplifying the ship's signal. Hoping to use the relay to contact the ship, the Spartan then disabled two facilities on opposite poles of Haven that were jamming the relay's signal. Cortana then used Requiem's portal system to teleport them directly into the relay structure.

### Didact's Return

"*Time was your ally, Human, but now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners… have returned.*"
—The Ur-Didact upon his revival.
 File:DIdact with armor.png
The pair arrived at the structure in the midst of an intense battle between Sangheili and Prometheans. After clearing an area around what he believed to be the relay, the Master Chief attempted to send a message to UNSC *Infinity*, warning them not to approach the planet's gravity well. However he instead unwittingly activated a Cryptum, waking its inhabitant, a living Forerunner called the Didact. With a wave of his hand he converted all of the present Prometheans' allegiances, changing the hue of their hard-light from blue to orange. The Covenant soldiers present also swore allegiance to the Didact. He then ensnared John-117 using the advanced telekinetic capabilities of his Combat Skin. The Didact expressed his disgust of humanity, and his belief that their inability to master the Sangheili and other Covenant races, whom he referred to as "primitives," meant that humanity had not yet earned the Mantle of Responsibility. He then threw John against the wall, stunning him, before returning to his Cryptum and making a Slipspace jump. The Didact's escape caused the core to begin collapsing in on itself. John stole a Ghost and, at the cost of the MJOLNIR's shields Cortana was able to give the vehicle extra boost. Just as the core was about to fully implode, Cortana used the collapsing portal system and they escaped as Haven collapsed.

### Infinity

"'**Infinity*, this is Commander Lasky. Pelican recon teams are down, repeat, all birds are down. We got numerous casualties and require immediate assistance, over.*"**
—Thomas Lasky requesting backup from *Infinity*.
 File:Halo 4 Campaign Infinity 1.jpg
The Master Chief and Cortana emerged at the opposite end of the portal back on the interior surface of Requiem. Unbeknownst to them, *Infinity* had picked up their distress call from *Forward Unto Dawn*, but not their warning signal from the relay. The duo appeared back in Requiem just in time to see *Infinity* fall from the sky, its shields and engines down. Right on its tail appeared the Didact's Cryptum, which followed it to its crash site. The Spartan began traveling through thick jungles in pursuit.

Meanwhile, *Infinity*'s position was severely compromised. Its captain, Andrew Del Rio, deployed Spartan and Marine fireteams into the swampy undergrowth surrounding the crash site, in an attempt to secure a perimeter. These fireteams quickly incurred heavy casualties upon encountering the Promethean AIs and became cut off from *Infinity*. The fireteams tasked with defending the ship's deployment elevators were quickly overwhelmed. On the ship itself, Phantoms swarmed past the disabled defense turrets and deployed kill teams directly onto *Infinity*'s hull. Captain Del Rio had believed he could give his fireteams air support and defend his ship simultaneously, however Phantoms and Banshees immediately engaged all deployed Pelicans.

John arrived after fighting through heavy Promethean and Covenant forces and rendezvoused with an old acquaintance, Commander Thomas Lasky as well as a Spartan-IV fireteam under the command of Commander Sarah Palmer. John then cleared an LZ for a dropship after being given tactical command of Marine forces on the ground. After the wounded had been evacuated, the Spartans commandeered heavy and light armor from *Infinity* and crushed enemy troops occupying the ship's primary deployment elevator, only to be informed that Covenant kill teams were inside the ship, attempting to gain access to the bridge.

Entering the ship via its deployment elevator, the Spartans were able to destroy all Covenant forces within the ship. However, Covenant forces were still being deployed *en masse* on the hull, and the ship's defenses had to be manually brought online. Using state-of-the-art mechanized infantry, John-117 was able to hold off Phantom dropships and re-engage the Archer Missile and MAC turrets, which destroyed two nearby battlecruisers and drove the Didact's Cryptum away; allowing *Infinity* to reactivate its engines and take to the sky.

### Assault

"*Gypsy Company, this is Captain Del Rio; the board is green!*"
—Andrew Del Rio giving the command for Gypsy Company to attack the particle battery.
 File:Halo 4 Campaign Del Rio Infinity 1.png
After narrowly escaping its destruction, *Infinity* began moving back towards the planet's portal. However, a battery of four Forerunner Particle Cannons stood between the Infinity and freedom. The ship's shields were still down, meaning that ground forces would need to be deployed if the ship was to escape. Lasky took point, in command of a joint Spartan and Marine detachment called Gypsy Company. Accompanied by three Pelicans and a Mammoth outfitted with a MAC and compliment of Warthogs, Gypsy Company advanced towards the particle cannons.

Two of the Pelicans accompanying Gypsy Company were destroyed by a shot from the first particle cannon. The third Pelican, carrying the targeting equipment necessary to direct the Infinity's fire, was also shot down by the blast. The Mammoth deployed Warthogs to secure the Pelican's crash site, allowing John-117 to obtain the dropship's target designator. With it, Gypsy Company managed to destroy two particle cannons before encountering further trouble. A Lich appeared and disabled the Mammoth's MAC, allowing Phantoms to deploy heavy armor and Ghosts. John-117 managed to board the Lich and destroyed it, but the Mammoth had taken heavy damage. Captain Del Rio deployed two Spartan fireteams, Castle and Shadow to the surface in an attempt to keep Covenant forces away from Gypsy Company.

Finally, the Mammoth's route was too blocked off to continue and John-117 and Cortana carried on by foot. After fighting through a series of terraces and Forerunner walkways, the pair entered the facility which housed the particle cannons' targeting network. Cortana directed the remaining two particle cannons to fire upon each other. However, as soon as she destroyed the cannons, Cortana disappeared.

### The Librarian

"*Who are you?*"
—John-117
"*I am what remains of the Forerunner once known as the Librarian.*"
—The Librarian
When she did not reappear, the Chief headed deeper into the facility, following several benevolent Sentinels through a series of corridors until he reached a large power source. John entered the power source, and it allowed him to communicate with the preserved consciousness of a great Forerunner known as the The Librarian. She explained the story of the Didact and his war with the ancient humans. She also warned the Spartan that the Didact intended to leave Requiem, and obtain one of the Forerunner's most powerful weapons, the Composer. At this point she told him that although humanity's geas contained an immunity to the Composer, placed there by herself over one hundred millennia ago, it needed to be unlocked, whereupon John experienced a genetic transformation and was teleported to a pedestal in another chamber of the facility. Cortana was there waiting for him, but so were several Prometheans.

### Didact's Escape

After fighting past the Prometheans, Cortana opened a portal and John-117 emerged back above ground in the midst of a massive battle between two Gypsy Company Scorpions, a Warthog, and a Mongoose against Covenant armor. Detecting the Master Chief on sensors, Sergeant Stacker directed the Marines to support him. Overhead *Infinity* battled several encroaching cruisers. Punching through the enemy armor and air support, the ground forces secured a vantage point from which John was able to use another target designator to mark the planet's gravity well, which *Infinity* destroyed. With the Covenant's air and ground forces almost completely annihilated from the area, *Infinity*'s ground forces returned to the ship.

Once aboard, John-117 and Cortana tried to pass on the Librarian's warning to Captain Del Rio. The Captain, however, did not believe what he believed to be the "hallucinations of an aging Spartan," even though Lasky vouched for them. His stubbornness caused one of Cortana's rampant matrices to lash out at the Captain, subsequently damaging the electronic equipment on the bridge. The Captain then insisted that Lasky remove her from the system for retiring. Lasky hesitated and John did so instead, refusing to hand Cortana over to the infuriated Captain. When the Captain ordered that John be arrested, the Spartan informed Lasky that he and Cortana would stay on Requiem and do what they could to stop the Didact while he should return to Earth and warn HIGHCOM.

The pair then proceeded down to one of the ship's armories and deployment centers. Lasky met them and told them that he had been ordered to detain the Spartan and, just in case John-117 had already left, he had prepared a Pelican gunship for "combat pursuit." Lasky then wished John good luck and left. Just before *Infinity* exited the planet, the Spartan flew the Pelican out of the deployment center towards the Didact's Cryptum. The Cryptum was sealed in a large shield and surrounded heavy Covenant air support including three cruisers and Phantom gunships. After fighting their way through the fleet and disabling three of the shielding pylons, Cortana prepared to crush the Cryptum with the remaining pylons, but was overcome with a fit of rampancy, causing her to drop the pylons. The second she did, a massive spacecraft formed around the Cryptum and left the planet. As the Covenant escort began to follow, John leaped off the final pylon and boarded a passing Lich, which then followed the Didact's ship into Slipspace.

## Gallery

Infinity 10.pngJohn-117 and a platoon of Spartan-IVs fighting to secure *Infinity*'s crash site.Scorpians under infinity.JPGScorpion tanks engage Covenant armor while *Infinity* combats *CRS*-class light cruisers overhead.Forerunner 10.pngA Promethean Knight kills a Sangheili Commander with its hardlight blade.Promethean.jpgA Promethean Battlewagon during the battle.Halo-4-Review-01.jpgJohn-117 early in the battle, amidst the wreckage of UNSC *Forward unto Dawn*.
## Notes

1. ↑ While the end date of the battle is unknown, it is known that the Raid on Ivanoff Station and the New Phoenix Incident occurred on the 24th of July. Due to the fact that Forerunner vessels are capable of near-instantaneous slipspace travel, it may logically be assumed that the First Battle of Requiem continued to at least the 23rd of July.

## Sources

1. ↑ **GameInformer** - *Issue May 2012*
2. ↑ **Halo 3** level *Halo*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 **Halo 4** level *Dawn*
4. ↑ **Halo 4**, *Terminals Prologue - Location Unknown*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 **Halo 4** level *Requiem*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 **Halo 4** level *Forerunner*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 **Halo 4** level *Infinity*
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 **Halo 4** level *Reclaimer*
9. ↑ **Halo 4** level *Shutdown*

Template:Post-war battles