halo 2 story

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The Heretic / Armory / Cairo Station The opening cutscene shows the two major plot threads that will progress through Halo 2: the fate of Master Chief, Sergeant Johnson, and the rest of the human forces, which includes Commander Miranda Keyes, the daughter of the late Captain Jacob Keyes, and Lord Hood, apparently a ranking official in UNSC; and the fate of an unnamed gold Covenant Elite we come to know as The Arbiter, who was in command of the Covenant forces at Halo installation 04 and is consequently disgraced, accused of heresy, and then secretly sent on a special mission by the three Prophet Hierarchs of the Covenant: Truth, Mercy, and Regret. The Arbiter is blamed for allowing the Pillar of Autumn to escape from Reach to Halo, as well as for the Master Chief's destruction of that ring. The Arbiter blames this on the Flood parasite and his inability to predict the Chief's actions. He is stripped of his rank and armor, and tortured by the white-mohawked Brute, Tartarus. These scenes also reintroduce us to the massive, hairy, apelike Brute race, first seen in the E3 2003 realtime demo. A more recent addition to the Covenant, they seem less sophisticated and less honorable than the Elites, although no less brutal and fearsome. The Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson are decorated for their service on board the orbital defense station Cairo, but the ceremony is interrupted by a relatively small Covenant fleet led by the Prophet of Regret. The Cairo, as well as other orbital defense stations, such as the Malta, are boarded by Covenant forces. Lord Hood orders Commander Keyes to get aboard her ship, In Amber Clad and orders the Master Chief to repel the station's boarders. While battling the Covenant boarders, Cortana reveals to you that the Covenant have placed a bomb on board, apparently planning to destroy the orbital stations and their deadly MAC guns to make it safe for the approach of a larger fleet. Master Chief locates this bomb, takes it with him to a hangar bay, and free falls through space with it, guiding it into a Covenant ship before safely hard-landing on the hull of In Amber Clad. In this level you'll encounter the first of several new units, the insect-like Drones that can fly. Editor's Note: Longtime fans will, of course, recognize the final cutscene of this level from Halo 2's announcement trailer revealed in early 2002; the addition of the sea urchin-like Covenant bomb makes perfect sense, plot-wise, but detracts somewhat from the romance of the scene; in the original trailer half of the impact comes from wondering exactly what the Chief hopes to achieve by hurling himself out a hangar window, a question that conjures images of him improvising a one-man boarding party on a Covenant cruiser. Outskirts / Metropolis Johnson and the Chief head down to Mombassa, Africa in a Pelican and are shot down by a large four-legged Covenant land vehicle called a Scarab. They progress through the streets of Old Mombassa, across a suspension bridge into New Mombassa, and eventually find and destroy the Scarab. On the way you encounter the new-look Hunters with upgraded weaponry; they are no longer vulnerable to single shot kills. You'll also see Jackals without their tell-tale shields, which means they are toting Beam Rifles, the Covenant sniper weapon. After the destruction of the Scarab, the cruiser belonging to the Prophet of Regret prepares to make a slipspace jump from just above the surface of the Earth. The Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson get aboard In Amber Clad just in time for the ship to propel itself into the slipspace wake of Regret's ship, following it. The ship's jump lays waste to New Mombassa. Editor's Note: As many fans have already pointed out, Cortana notes in First Strike that she is able to use the slipspace engines and plasma weapons more accurately and efficiently than the Covenant themselves do, an indication of their continual misunderstandings of Forerunner legacies, whether technological or otherwise. That Regret's ship is able to execute this slipspace jump indicates that her knowledge has been assimilated by the Covenant, perhaps by the AI on the Ascendant Justice. The Arbiter / The Oracle The disgraced Elite is brought before two of the Hierarchs, Truth and Mercy (the third, Regret, appears as a hologram, as he does many times throughout the game) and told that he will not be executed outright, but will serve in a special position as The Arbiter; a role that is always suicidal and has been pivotal in many parts of Covenant history. To this end he receives new armor that will distinguish him from the rest of the Covenant. The story here makes its first perspective switch, and players finally see that they are actually going to guide the actions of The Arbiter during gameplay. The first mission is to pursue an Elite called the Heretic, who the Hierarchs say is telling lies to the Covenant. He is hiding on a Forerunner station in the atmosphere of Threshold, the gas giant near the remains of Halo installation 04. The Heretic has supporters among various Covenant castes, including Elites and Grunts, which are distinguished from your own forces by differences in costume and coloration. Throughout the level the Heretic taunts you with the statement that the Prophets are lying about the Great Journey. You pursue him throughout the station, including an interlude where he flees on a Banshee and you must give chase with the support of a Phantom and its three powerful plasma guns. Finally he ensconces himself behind a plasma shield as a powerful storm threatens to destroy the station. In the second half we become aware of the fact that the Flood are loose on the station, and were possibly stored there or escaped there from Halo 04. Editor's Note: Joe Staten on the LE DVD notes that this station apparently predates the Halo structures and was where Forerunners first "encountered" the Flood. In an act of desperation, the Spec Ops Elite leader accompanying you gives his plasma sword to the Arbiter so you to cut the three cables that hold the station in place. When you finally catch up with the Heretic in a hangar, he at first seems to try and persuade you to his cause, revealing that 343 Guilty Spark is with him, and again accusing the Hierarchs of lying without saying precisely what they have lied about. Then the Heretic fires on you and releases several holograms of himself. When you defeat him, Guilty Spark expresses regret because the Heretic's education had given him satisfaction. The Brute, Tartarus, arrives, takes 343 Guilty Spark prisoner, and the three of you leave the station before the storm destroys it. Editor's Note: That the Heretic's efforts to convince you to believe him are half-hearted make the entire encounter seem a bit symbolic; as many players no doubt already suspect that he is, in fact, right about the Prophets, which is seemingly confirmed by 343 Guilty Spark, you may find yourself wishing that you had the option to instead join with him and turn on Tartarus; the kind of option offered players of games like Deus Ex. The fight against the Heretic and his holographic cronies is the first of Halo 2's three "boss battles" which feature enemies that must be fought with different tactics than other units. Delta Halo / Regret Switching back to the Master Chief, In Amber Clad exits slipspace behind Regret's cruiser to find they've arrived at another Halo installation. Sergeant Johnson is ordered to take his troops to the surface in Pelican dropships, while the Master Chief and a group of Helljumper ODSTs perform a hard-drop in pods. You link up with other marine forces and push your way through Covenant resistance, fighting among ancient-looking, vine-ridden ruins, eventually passing over a lake using two gondolas and under it through two underwater elevators, and arrive at a structure where the Prophet of Regret is delivering his sermon. Arriving at the structure, you look overhead to see an enormous Covenant fleet arrive from slipspace, including the massive Covenant capital, High Charity. After defeating the Prophet of Regret, the fleet turns its weapons on the installation, vaporizing it. You escape into the water and are captured by the tentacles of the giant plant-like character, Gravemind. Editor's Note: Regret has been apologizing for his premature attack on Earth; I myself think it likely that he was targeted for elimination by the other Hierarchs anyway, and that even if the Master Chief had not killed Regret, Mercy and Truth would have ordered the fleet to vaporize him anyway. The fight with Regret is one of Halo's three "boss battles" in which you encounter enemies that must be fought in a particular way. Sacred Icon / Quarantine Zone On High Charity, the death of the Prophet of Regret at the hands of the Master Chief is used as justification for replacing the Honor Guard of Elites that protect the Prophets with Brutes. Both the Arbiter and the Spec Ops leader object to no avail, but the Elites are seriously disgruntled (no pun intended) and the first hints of the Covenant breaking apart along racial lines can be seen. Tartarus drops the Arbiter off at a structure on Installation 05 called the Wall, a barrier guarding the Library. A protective shield prevents entry to the area; your first task is to deactivate this shield. The area is full of piston-like structures, some of which must be activated to gain access to other levels. The Wall is defended by Sentinels similar to those found on Halo 04, although some have more powerful beam weapons, and Enforcers, much larger foes that have shields and fire two weapons; one similar to the Needler and the other similar to the rocket launcher. In behavior and appearance they resemble the armored Pfhor vehicles called Juggernaughts from the Marathon series. When you finally arrive inside Halo 05's Library, you find that Sergeant Johnson and Miranda Key