Crest

**Crest** is a human planet in the Outer Colonies. Following the fall of Harvest, Crest became one of the lead farming colonies, due to its rich soil and proximity to the Inner Colonies. It was eventually glassed by the Covenant in late 2551, however a third of the population managed to evacuate in time due to UNSC intervention.

In 2556, recolonization efforts began, headed by the AI Jackson. A second evacuation occurred shortly after Jackson turned to the Created.

It notably had an unofficial civil war during the beginning Human-Covenant War.

## History

### Colonization

Crest was colonized in late 2478, with the help of the *Phoenix*-class Colony Ships, the UNSC *Ark of Noah* and the UNSC *Mockingbird*. Valor City was formed as the colony's capital, as well as the location of the colony's only spaceport and tether. Crest's rich soil made it a great location for farming, which then became Crest's major industry.

### Feuding

However, unity didn't last long. In early 2479—less than half a year after colonization—a large feud between the families of Andrew Stanley and James Hartmann broke out. Hartmann was able to gain many supporters early on, forming the [PLACEHOLDER 1]. Those that did not agree with Hartmann's ideals joined Stanley to form the [PLACEHOLDER 2], later renamed the Runyin Party after the indigenous plant used in the popular alcoholic beverage of the same name.

The two parties occupied the council with large numbers, collectively controlling at least eighty-five percent of the council members.

Eventually the names were dropped. Instead, families simply aligned with others, offering each other protection in exchange for votes in the council and manpower or resources. Opposing families began to raid each other's lands to prevent their sides from gaining anything that could make a difference, such as food.

The resulting chaos became so uncontrollable that almost every family was forced to align with one of the factions. Those that did not risked losing goods or even loved ones.

To make matters worse, members of the Freeguard would supply weapons and other gear to whichever side would pay the most, in an attempt to make a profit off of their supply raids.

By 2525, the heads of the two factions were the Walker and Graenert families, which were locked in a very tight competion for more power in the council.

### Human Covenant War

The Covenant attack on Harvest was a strong enough hit to humanity to prevent a complete civil war on Crest. However, it did not completely stop the rivalries. Instead, families with members serving in the UNSC against the new Covenant threat became much more important. Service began to be used as a status symbol, determining which families would remain protected and which would lead each faction.

Jet Thompson enlisted to ensure that his family would continue to be protected by the Gold family, which took over the seats held by the Walker family near the beginning of the war.

After Harvest fell, Crest's food production increased immensely, taking the place of Harvest as one of the lead food producers in the Outer Colonies. This strategic importance became even more important later in the war, as more and more farming colonies fell to the Covenant.

However, due to the new shift in focus towards the UEG, the Freeguard stopped supplying the colony, which had become dependent on their "aid." While the colony didn't completely fall apart, raids between families became more prominent as supplies were limited.

In 2550, the Langston family took the place of Graenert, which had held control for over 25 years, as the head of their faction.

### First Battle of Crest

"*Those assholes sealed the city... left half the population to die. Left* my family *to die. Over what? A stupid civil war!*"
―Jet Thompson, after hearing what happened on Crest while he was stranded.
In 2551, the Covenant finally attacked Crest, stopping the feud between the two parties, lead by Gold and Langston. A small UNSC force in the area was able to intervene against the Covenant fleet, buying enough time for approximately a third of the population to evacuate, most of which were aligned with Langston due to their proximity to the spaceport in Valor City. The evacuees were brought to New Corsica, as a part of Operation: LIFEGUARD.

It was later discovered that Langston supporters locked many of the security doors leading in to the city, still caught up in their civil war. Because of this, Jet Thompson's family was unable to evacuate the planet in time, and they along with two-thirds of the planet's population were killed in the Covenant attack.

Among the evacuees was the Ryder family, the strongest supporter of Langston prior to the invasion. Joseph Ryder soon used this high position to gain followers for Crest's Voice, a non-violent rebel faction founded on New Corsica.

### Recolonization

"*What a shame. So many unexplored jungles, probably countless beautiful landscapes, and thousands upon thousands of uncategorized species... all gone. Crest will never be the same.*"
―Jet Thompson, remembering how lush and unexplored the planet was prior to glassing.
In 2556, the planet began to be reterraformed. During the reterraforming process, large untouched deposits of gold and other rare metals were discovered, which will become Crest's major industry upon recolonization, due to the inability to obtain the rich soil that made Crest a major farming planet prior to glassing.

In 2557, Fireteam Frostbite visited the planet to take a look at the recolonization efforts.

### Second Battle of Crest

When Jackson joined the Created, Crest became blockaded. A Guardian was positioned in orbit, and all ways on and off the planet were placed into automated lockdown.

Three Spartan-IV fireteams—Frostbite, Emerald, and Amber—were deployed to aid in the evacuation of the planet. The three teams held off Promethean forces long enough to evacuate the hundreds of workers aboard a pair of freighters while the Guardian was distracted by a small UNSC strike group.

Losses were minimal, with only two destroyers, the *Fury* and the *Torsk*, taking critical damage. None of the Spartans were killed during the surface engagement, although some members of Emerald suffered major injuries.

## Notable Crestans

* Jet Thompson (Thompson Family, Protected by Gold (as of 2549))
* Joseph Ryder (Ryder Family, Protected by Langston (as of 2558))
* Justin-D009 (Ryder Family, Protected by Langston (as of 2552))
* Will-G222 (Affiliation unknown)

## Trivia

* There was a single Space Tether on Crest before it was glassed, under Langston control. It was being reconstructed as a part of the reterraforming/recolonizing process.
* Prior to Jackson's blockade, the reterraforming process had an estimated time of completion in early 2573. Current completion time is unknown.

## Behind The Scenes

* Other Halo Fanon users may use Crest as a home planet of their characters, but may not alter the events and history of Crest.