Halo Stories: Collapse Saga

In Chronological Order:
~The Reaping (in progress)
~Tomb of Glass (in progress)
~Halo 3: Collapse (in progress)

My halo stories are all going to be connected in some way, but this connection is only meant to enhance the stories, it is not vital to understanding them individually. Halo 3: Collapse is the centerpiece, and the others are meant to compliment it. I may go a while between updating my stories, though, as the chapters are long and my schedule is restrictive.

When reading the Collapse saga, keep in mind that not everything is what it seems. The stories have a complicated underlying plot that I intend for the reader to decipher. See if you can figure it all out before the end. If there is something that you find hard to understand, the answers can be found either in another of the stories or hidden in the details.

My stories contain violence and course language, but they will never contain sexual content.

Please keep in mind for continuity purposes that I began writing these stories before HGN or Ghosts of Onyx were announced. I do not intend to factor either of them into any of my stories.

Finally, please feel free to contact me if you want to use any part of my work. I'm cool like that.

REFERENCE GUIDE

I've managed to (for the most part) organize these notes that I have dredged from the depths of my computer for your convenience. I know it looks like a mouthful. Seriously, though, I can't stress this enough--you don't need to read all this stuff to understand the story. It's here as a quick reference, nothing more. I'll add more later if I feel like it or if more questions arise. Happy hunting. (updated 12-18-2008)

Dramatis Personae
Being as the characters in the Collapse saga are diverse and, at times, obscure, I have included a list of their names and brief descriptions of them. Keep in mind that some of these characters have not yet been introduced into the story, and others that have or will be introduced may not be listed yet. This list covers the cast of both Collapse and Tomb of Glass, but I have yet to include the cast of The Reaping. This guide will be updated periodically as the story progresses.

Canon: described/developed in the books or the games in detail. Copyrights belong to Bungie Studios, Microsoft, Eric Nylund, William C. Dietz et al.
ILB: character from the "I Love Bees" saga. Copyrights belong to 4orty 2wo entertainment et al.
Semi-Canon: we have a name, and almost nothing more. Does not apply to characters who actually appear in the games or books but remain unnamed.
Semi-ILB: we have a name, and almost nothing more.
All others: characters created by me. You can use them in your stories with permission. Just drop me a note and I'll get back to you.

Humans (arranged by rank):
S0CO: Section Zero Commanding Officer. Section Zero is the internal affairs division of the Office of Naval Intelligence. All UNSC and ONI AIs are programmed with an override forcing them to submit completely to a Section Zero investigation, regardless of who they work for. Only rampant AIs are able to resist this override.
Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood (canon): Supreme commander of the UNSC Fleet, stationed aboard the super-MAC station Cairo.
Fleet Admiral Thomas Westley: UNSC Admiral.
Admiral John Clark: ONI Admiral.
General Nicholas Strauss (canon): UNSC General.
General Douglas Levy: UNSC General.
Colonel James Ackerson (canon): ONI Section Three Colonel who strongly opposes the Spartan-II program.
Colonel Frank Herzog (ILB): ONI Section Zero colonel killed in a suspicious car accident while investigating the activities of Major Antonio Standish. Recruited Rani Sobeck into ONI.
Major Jack Easley (canon): Longsword pilot decorated for heroism in New Mombasa who perished during the second Covenant attack on Earth.
Major Antonio Standish (ILB): ONI Section Three Major who attempted to conceal a mysterious artifact in Chawla Base in Boston which was retrieved from the ONI prowler Apocalypso.
Captain Derek Krist: Captain of the ONI stealth ship Applebee, part of operation: HYPODERMIC. Escaped the glassing of Reach, passing through the Eridanus system on the way to Coral. Received a strange green crystal artifact presumed to be a Covenant superweapon from Governor Jacob Jiles in exchange for four neutrino generators. Later killed during the Covenant attack which obliterated Coral before he could complete his mission.
Captain William Martel: Commanding officer of Fox Company.
Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes (canon): Former commander of the UNSC Soberg in ONI's Radio Beacon Deployment Program, promoted to commander of the UNSC In Amber Clad. Following In Amber Clad's destruction, reassigned to command of the UNSC Gettysburg. Daughter of the late Captain Jacob Keyes, inventor of the notorious combat maneuver known as the "Keyes Loop."
Lieutenant Jane Driscoll: Commanding officer of Fox Company, 1st Platoon; a company of the 42nd stationed in upstate New York.
Lieutenant William Garrison: Commanding officer of Fox Company, 2nd Platoon. Jersey Morelli, Sophia Rodriguez, Diego Perez, and Avery Johnson among others serve in his platoon.
Lieutenant Joshua Murdock: ONI Section Zero interrogator assigned to extract information from Covenant prisoners captured on Coral. Trapped in an underground facility following the glassing of the planet in which his entire family perished. See Staff Sergeant Kyle Haskins.
Lieutenant Travis Schnaidt: ONI operative overseeing the excavation of an artifact discovered on Coral. Killed when the planet was glassed by the Covenant in September 2552.
CPOMZ (canon): Chief of Security at King Under the Mountain, reporting to Colonel James Ackerson.
John-117 (very canon): If you don't recognize this guy, you've never played Halo.
Frederic-104 (canon): Spartan who had been left in charge of securing MAC generators on Reach. Considered John-117's second-in-command.
Cassandra-094 (semi-canon): Spartan who recently recovered from injuries received during the Fall of Reach, reinstated into combat status following full recovery.
Kelly-087 (canon): Currently listed as MIA. Last seen departing on a mission with unknown objectives with Doctor Catherine Halsey.
Linda-058 (canon): The best sniper of all the Spartans.
William-043 (canon): The best rocketeer of all the Spartans, capable of hitting a moving Banshee from a distance without use of computer-guided rockets.
Yasmine Zaman (ILB): Kidnapped by ONI on September 16, 2537. Inducted into the Spartan class of 2537. Washed out on January 4, 2546. Brain used to create the AI Melissa, now known as Durga.
Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson (so very very canon): Bad-ass Sergeant dude resented by his underlings for his taste in music. But don't go whining to your mamas about it.
Staff Sergeant Kyle Haskins: UNSC-ONI liaison of the In Amber Clad. Released from the jails of High Charity by John-117, later appointed ambassador to Tterrab. See Lieutenant Joshua Murdock.
Sergeant Leroy Banks (semi-canon): Second in command of Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Survived the Quarantine Zone of Halo Installation 05.
Corporal Laura McPherson: Corporal from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Captured by the Flood on Halo Installation 05.
Corporal Jason Morelli (semi-ILB): Communications technician in the ONI Signal Corps, originally stationed on the UNSC Soberg under the command of Miranda Keyes. Following the glassing of Coral, reassigned as head of communications on the refurbished UNSC Gettysburg. Has a taste for 1940's jazz music.
Corporal Diego Perez (semi-canon): Corporal from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Sister, Natalia, was part of an armored regiment which was destroyed by the Pious Inquisitor during its departure from New Mombasa. Released from the jails of High Charity by John-117, and later returned to Earth aboard the Pious Inquisitor along with other survivors of In Amber Clad.
Corporal Sophie Rodriguez: Corporal from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Deadly with an S2-AM Sniper Rifle. Survived the Quarantine Zone of Halo Installation 05. See Private Maria Cortez.
Corporal Tony Scalita: Corporal from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Captured by the Flood on Halo Installation 05.
Corporal James Stensland: ODST who was part of the security detail at the excavation site of an artifact on Coral. Killed during the glassing of the planet in September 2552.
Private Maria Cortez: Marine who was part of the security detail at the excavation site of an artifact on Coral, trapped in an underground facility following the glassing of the planet. See Corporal Sophie Rodriguez.
Private Rashad Davis: Private from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Survived the Quarantine Zone of Halo Installation 05. Something of a legend in Alpha Company for his driving skills. Poor shot. Nicknamed 'Dee-Dee', or 'Deeds', which is short for 'Designated Driver' due to his steadfast refusal to drink alcohol.
Private Eric Fellnor (semi-ILB): Formerly muscle-for-hire for a now-deceased gangster named Thin Kinkle, Eric Fellnor was enlisted into the corps by the AI Durga after surrendering to Janissary James. Private Fellnor has adjusted well to life in the corps, and is known as Fox Company's scrounger, retrieving obscure or contraband items for fellow marines through petty theft or the black market... for a price.
Private Eugene Kowalski: Sniper from Alpha Company, released from the jails of High Charity by John-117. Killed shortly afterwards on Halo Installation 05 by a Jackal sniper.
Private Kevin McKinsey (semi-canon): Private from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Released from the jails of High Charity by John-117. Something of a coward.
Private Jersey Morelli (ILB): An 18-year-old computer hacker from New York, Private Morelli is gifted with the assistance of Durga, a rogue UNSC AI. Assisted in the deactivation of an artifact illegally held on Chawla Base by Major Antonio Standish, later drafted into the 42th Marines, Fox Company, stationed in New York. Shares his father's taste for 1940's jazz music.
Private Michael Simmons: Marine who survived the first Siege of New Mombasa, only to be captured on Halo Installation 05 by Covenant forces in the Quarantine Zone. Killed by a Brute guard in the jails of High Charity for speaking up.
Private Alger Whitten: 36-year-old Private from Alpha company during the first Siege of New Mombasa. Released from the jails of High Charity by John-117. Family killed during the glassing of Harvest, brother killed in the crash of the ONI prowler Apocalypso. Preferred weapon is an M90 shotgun.
Governor Jacob Jiles (canon): Leader of a rebel group that calls an asteroid belt near Eridanus home. Discovered a strange green crystal artifact in the belt and traded it away with the captain of the ONI stealth ship Applebee in exchange for four generators that emitted fake bomb signatures. Presumed dead following a Covenant attack on the rebel colony.
Doctor Catherine Halsey (canon): Doctor in charge of the Spartan-II program. Kidnapped Kelly-087 and departed in a stolen Chiroptera-class vessel on an unknown mission.
Tyler Blancett: Assigned to guard Covenant prisoners captured on Coral. Divorced, but recovering from alcoholism, he attempted to prevent his ex-wife from taking their son from Coral to Earth by turning the illegal provider of their visas in to Earth immigration officials. They were unable to leave Coral as a result, and both were subsequently killed when the Covenant glassed the planet. Along with six others, Blancett survived the glassing in the Hall of the Mountain King, where his former alcoholism resurfaced with deadly results.
Laura Conners: Monitor of Coral's early detection slipspace probe network. Trapped in an underground facility following the glassing of the planet.
Ellen Darcy: Scientist in charge of research of a strange green crystal discovered by rebels led by Jacob Jiles in the Eridanus system. Died following the activation of the crystal from a head injury sustained due to massive disorientation caused by the artifact.
Michael Jones: Technician in charge of all communications in the Hall of the Mountain King on Coral. In charge of resetting a dead man's switch of unknown purpose in the facility. Suffers from mild claustrophobia. Trapped in the facility following the glassing of the planet.
Esko Korpijaakko (canon): Involved with the excavation of an artifact on Coral. Trapped in an underground facility following the glassing of the planet.
Yuji Miyagi: In charge of information assurance and project monitoring in the Hall of the Mountain King. Current Director of Operations. Trapped in the facility following the glassing of the planet.
Rani Sobeck (ILB): Newly-recruited Section Zero operative. Assisted in the deactivation of an artifact illegally held on Chawla Base by Major Antonio Standish.
Kamal Zaman (ILB): A medical-school graduate from Coral who assisted in the deactivation of the Chawla artifact, since conscripted into UNSC service as a medic serving in New Mombasa.

Artificial Intelligences:
343 Guilty Spark (canon): Monitor of Installation 04.
2401 Penitent Tangent (canon): Monitor of Installation 05, 'possessed' by Cortana.
Beowulf (canon): ONI attache AI assisting Colonel James Ackerson.
Cortana (canon): UNSC smart AI, longtime companion of John-117.
Durga (ILB): Formerly the AI Melissa of the ONI prowler Apocalypso, Durga holds a strong desire to not return to the Navy. She currently assists Jersey Morelli, whether he wants her help or not.
Holy Knight: Covenant Master AI in charge of automated operations on the Pious Inquisitor. Programmed line-by-line by Covenant engineers. Capable of learning, but not self-aware. Hard-wired to enforce the beliefs and religious laws of the Covenant. Decompiled by Cortana after attempting to destroy the Pious Inquisitor.
Priam: ONI Smart AI serving S0CO.
Quincy: Smart AI on site at the Hall of the Mountain King on Coral. Despite only being two years old, Quincy has shown signs of rampancy ever since the strange green crystal artifact was activated.

Unggoy (Grunts):
Yayap (canon): A SpecOps grunt who rescued his master from certain death on the Pillar of Autumn and survived the destruction of Halo Installation 04. See Chapter One of Warrior of Virtue's The Return of 'Zamamee and Yayap for details of the rescue (content used with author's permission).
Zuzat: A grunt major stationed on the Pious Inquisitor, formerly commanded by an elite named Pulo 'Arlonee. Due to the atypical training he received from the elite, he does not tend to panic or run during combat, rather to stand and fight.

Sangheili (Elites):
Anom 'Paculee, Communications Officer, Pious Inquisitor
- - - - (family deceased)
Aro 'Silnumee, Mirratord First (please note that the Mirratord are not official Halo canon and are the creation of Soulguard, used with the author's permission)
- - - - Son: Rolo 'Mornumee, Minor Inquisitor (deceased)
- - - - Daughter: Meru
- - - - Mate: Kala 'Runumra
- - - - - - - - Brother: Keom 'Yerumee
Arbiter/Orna 'Fulsamee (canon)
- - - - (family erased from Covenant history)
Aya 'Daulanee, Fleetmaster, Fleet of Persistent Regret
- - - - Sons: Faro and Takri (both too young to have earned a nom de guerre)
- - - - Mate: Yola 'Lalanra (deceased)
- - - - - - - - Mother: Myra 'Polamri
- - - - - - - - Father: High Councillor Soha 'Rolamee (canon, deceased)
- - - - - - - - - - - - Brother: Supreme Judge Muda 'Yalamae
- - - - - - - - Brother: Motak 'Harlamee, Junior Field Master
- - - - - - - - - - - - Mate: Hylya 'Sulam
Exli 'Uqsotee, head of highly controversial Research and Development program
- - - - (no family)
Keom 'Yerumee, Major Inquisitor
- - - - Sister: Kala 'Runumra
- - - - - - - - Son: Rolo 'Mornumee, Minor Inquisitor (deceased)
- - - - - - - - Daughter: Meru
- - - - - - - - Mate: Aro 'Silnumee, Mirratord First
Hiru 'Kyrona, High Councillor; High Charity
- - - - (no family)
Milo 'Ornala, High Councillor; High Charity
- - - - Son: Ilion 'Hynalee, Major Inquisitor (deceased)
- - - - Daughter: Ineve
- - - - Mate: Yasut 'Aphnalra (deceased)
Motak 'Harlamee, SpecOps Junior Field Master
- - - - Mate: Hylya 'Sulam
- - - - Mother: Myra 'Polamri
- - - - Father: High Councillor Soha 'Rolamee (canon, deceased)
- - - - - - - - Brother: Supreme Judge Muda 'Yalamae
- - - - - - - - - - - - Mate: Fara 'Zolamra
- - - - Sister: Yola 'Lalanra (deceased)
- - - - - - - - Mate: Aya 'Daulanee, Fleetmaster, Fleet of Persistent Regret
- - - - - - - - Sons: Faro and Takri (both too young to have earned a nom de guerre)
Muda 'Yalamae, Supreme Judge of the High Council
- - - - Mate: Fara 'Zolamra
- - - - Brother: High Councilor Soha 'Rolamee (canon, deceased)
- - - - - - - - Mate: Myra 'Polamri
- - - - - - - - Daughter: Yola 'Lalanra (deceased)
- - - - - - - - - - - - Mate: Aya 'Daulanee, Fleetmaster, Fleet of Persistent Regret
- - - - - - - - - - - - Sons: Faro and Takri (both too young to have earned a nom de guerre)
- - - - - - - - Son: Motak 'Harlamee, SpecOps Junior Field Master
- - - - - - - - - - - - Mate: Hylya 'Sulam
Pulo 'Arlonee, Major Inquisitor (taken by the Flood)
- - - - Mate: Puri 'Hylonri
- - - - Son: Ado (too young to have earned a nom de guerre)
- - - - Father: Rafas 'Mirlonee (deceased)
Rolo 'Tomasee, Minor Inquisitor, failed assassin
- - - - (family killed during the Second Battle for Earth)
Veli 'Calasee, Ship Master, Undying Triumph; Mutineer
- - - - (family deceased)
Zuka 'Zamamee/Half-Jaw, SpecOps Leader (canon)
- - - - Sons: Aida and Adar
- - - - Daughter: Jeru
- - - - Mate: Lana 'Tumamra
- - - - Brother: Huki 'Umamee (canon, deceased)

Jiralhanae (Brutes):
Bracktanus (canon): Brute captain who murdered Rolo 'Mornumee in cold blood at the Step of Silence during the weeks leading up to the Purge of High Charity. The incident was overlooked by the Prophets, but - to put it lightly - dealt with by the Mirratord. Some rumored that he resurfaced in the Jiralhanae food supply.
Gradenkus: Jiralhanae fleetmaster originally stationed at the Kig-Yar homeworld, but summoned to the Sangheili homeworld following Regret's assassination. Answers to the Prophet of Envy.
Laracus: Firstborn son of Tartarus. Appointed Supreme Commander of the Covenant fleet by the Prophet of Truth.
Tyrulus: Self-appointed Chieftain of the Brutes now serving as the Supreme Commander of the Covenant Fleet of the Prophet of Truth's fleet. Attained the position by finding the Fist of Rukt and killing any who tried to take it from him.
Jharalus: Tyrulus' top lieutenant, sent to Tterrab to represent the Prophet of Truth.

Kig-Yar (Jackals):
Nat: Sharquoi assassin. Preferred weapon is a Beam Rifle. Nat is capable of hitting a target that is well over a kilometer away, and patient enough to wait motionless for hours until the target presents itself, but he is handicapped by his need to see the gun he is using. He alone among the Sharquoi does not use active camoflage during combat.

Prophets
Envy: Supreme Judge of the High Council of Deed and Doctrine, stationed on the Sangheili homeworld of Tterrab.
High Prophet of Mercy (canon): The oldest and wisest of the Hierarchs, abandoned to the Flood by the Prophet of Truth on High Charity.
Pity: Minor prophet on the High Council of Concordance, stationed on Tterrab.
High Prophet of Regret (canon): The youngest and least experienced of the Hierarchs, organized a fleet at the Unyielding Hierophant to invade the Sol system. Following the destruction of the Unyielding Hierophant, he was shamed in the eyes of the other Hierarchs and sent to Earth with a complement of only fifteen ships. Assassinated by the Master Chief on the surface of Halo Installation 05. Truth recalled the phantoms that were sent to assist the hierarch, abandoning him to his death.
Supposition (semi-canon): Minor prophet on the High Council of Deed and Doctrine, accompanied Exli 'Uqsotee on an expedition to Coral to investigate the Forerunner vault uncovered by ONI prior to the glassing of the planet.
High Prophet of Truth (canon): The highest-ranking of the triumvirate of the Hierarchs, and following the events of High Charity, the sole leader of the Covenant. Eliminated the prophets of Regret and Mercy to consolidate his power base, and now seeks to finish what the Covenant started.

Sangheili Names
Male names are structured as follows: given name (first name), adjectival describer, creche name (family name), honorific (if any)
Female names are structured as follows: given name (first name), first two letters of father's creche name, creche name of mate, honorific (if any)

Honorifics
ee-an honorific signifying military service, applied only to males.
ra-an honorific signifying motherhood.
ri-an honorific applied to widows.
a-an honorific signifying a position on the High Council.
ae-an honorific reserved for Supreme Judges of the High Council.

Units of Time (Approximate)
1 Cycle = 9.43 Earth years
1 Division = 1/8 Cycle = 1.17875 Earth years
1 Rotation = 32 hours
1 Precession = 8 units ~= 1.33 hours
1 Unit ~= 10 minutes

Due to its origins on an entirely different planet, the Sangheili calendar system is greatly different from our own and utilizes different standards of measurement. Being as Tterrab's sun is a class-A star, any habitable planets must orbit at a far greater distance for liquid water to be possible. As such, it takes longer for Tterrab to orbit its sun. One cycle is equal to the time it takes for the planet to complete a full orbit, but since this decade-long period makes for a rather inconvenient measure of time, it has been split into eight divisions just slightly longer than one year on Earth. Tterrab's 32-hour days lead to scorching midday temperatures, but also yield an additional three hours of night. Smaller units of measurement deviate from their human equivalents, but they are close enough to round off the difference as ten minutes in a unit, and one hour and twenty minutes in a precession. An Age in the Covenant calendar does not follow any predefined standards, and the start of each new age is declared by the prophets without relationship to any celestial event.

Places
Tterrab: The Sangheili homeworld. Orbits a class-A (blue spectrum) star on the outer fringes of the Orion Arm, which is a curious location since in most cases such a star would go through its entire life cycle before planets could accumulate. Tterrab takes the equivalent of nine and a half Earth years to orbit its sun, and due to the eccentricity of its orbit and a thirty-five degree axial tilt, the planet experiences prolonged, high-yield growing seasons at the cost of severe summers and winters. Though sea-level barometric pressure is twice that of Earth, the air is breathable to humans. Unfortunately, the planet is exposed to far more UV radiation than Earth due to the nature of the star it orbits. Tterrab has one moon, Leda, which is too small to hold an atmosphere of its own but is heavily mined nonetheless.
Pleiades Star Cluster: A large collection of high-mass stars prominently visible from Earth, this star cluster was home to a mysterious Forerunner artifact left adrift in space for unknown millenia.
Akhilia: A gas giant orbiting only four AU away from Tterrab's sun, which is itself one AU in diameter; the turbulent atmosphere of this world is always boiling hot. In the night sky of Tterrab, it looks more like a comet than a planet due to trailing gases boiled off of the planet's atmosphere.
Coral (semi-canon): A human colony world glassed without warning in late 2552. This poverty- and crime-stricken world was once considered a highly favorable destination for outbound colonists due to its exotic locale, but following the onset of the Human-Covenant war, it was faced with an influx of refugees from the outer colonies in order to help shift the humanitarian burden off of Earth. At the time of its destruction, Coral was home to 1.7 billion people. Less than one percent of the population was successfully evacuated.
Vista: A Neptune-sized gas giant first detected in early 2006, this is the outermost planet orbiting the star HD 69830 in the constellation Puppis. Approximately 42 light-years from Earth, it was one of the first star systems to be considered for colonization. Prior to its destruction, Coral was this world's largest moon.
Hall of the Mountain King: A secret ONI Section Three facility buried two hundred and fifty meters beneath the surface of Coral, remotely operated by Colonel James Ackerson. A chaotic, winding labyrinth of corridors with laboratories and rooms scattered seemingly at random, most are confused by the inefficiency of such a layout. Originally built by Friedan separatist movement known as March 33, reclaimed by ONI following its sudden abandonment in the year 2521. Survived the glassing of the planet in late September of 2552, with seven people buried inside.

Concepts
Cyclical Energy Shields: These energy shields are somewhat similar to those of a standard elite. They are relatively weak, but they recharge the instant they stop taking damage. There is no recharge delay, meaning that only automatic or high-powered weapons are guaranteed to have an effect. Used by the Mirratord and the Sharquoi.
Ethyl Alcohol: (C2H6O) Ethanol, or grain alcohol, is used in intoxicating beverages and to fuel vehicles. It has recently been found to be the Sangheili equivalent of chloroform, producing complete incapacitation and brief memory loss if inhaled. Discovered purely by accident.
Mirratord (Created by Soulguard, used with permission): The blade of the Sangheili High Council, the Mirratord serve as bodyguards and assassins who root out corrupt politicians on any side. They are highly skilled with any weapon, though they prefer the use of dual-wielded energy sceptres. They possess cyclical energy shields and multi-spectral active camoflage systems. Though many wear the black armor of special operations, they hide themselves within the ranks of the Covenant, distinguishable only by the stripes on their armor. Mirratord Seconds sport two small spikes on their helmets, and Mirratord Firsts, the highest possible rank, sport only one. These differences are subtle enough that they are ignored by most. A well-guarded secret, unknown even to the Hierarchs, the Order of the Mirratord was recently made public as an act of political revenge by a Sangheili politician who mysteriously disappeared shortly afterwards. There are only 48 of these legendary warriors in active service.
Murdock/Korpijaakko Artifact: Codenamed 'Subnova,' this mysterious Forerunner device was initially discovered by a band of rebels in the Eridanus system, later acquired by the Office of Naval Intelligence and relocated to the Hall of the Mountain King for further study. Further research has shown that it is capable of emitting a hellacious pulse of high-frequency energy capable of breaking the molecular bonds between any three-dimensional matter in slipspace within a ten light-year radius. When used with the right timing, it can annihilate an entire fleet.
Network crystals: An array of Forerunner long-term solar energy collectors scattered across the entire galaxy. Being as these devices are never located near a star system with habitable planets, they went undiscovered by the UNSC until the ONI prowler Apocalypso picked one up on a random vector following the glassing of Troy. The release of their stored energy can be controlled through direct manipulation. Though their purpose is unknown, these artifacts are responsible for the slipstream eddies that have long hampered human navigation of slipspace. They have gathered energy undisturbed for thousands of years, each now containing hundreds of times more power than the Forerunner crystal discovered on Reach.
Sharquoi: Jackal assassins of unparalleled skill. They wear black body paint from head to toe, make use of multi-spectral active camoflage (also invisible on the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums) and cyclical energy shields, and conduct assassinations by means of severing the spinal cord at the base of the neck. While there are only twelve of them, they are obedient only to the prophets and have trained for their entire lives. They were saved in reserve to eliminate the UNSC's leadership. Their behavior is unusual for members of the Covenant, as they will not hesitate to use human weapons or to kill a superior officer who interferes with their mission. While each of the twelve has his own specialty, such as sniping, they are most deadly with energy daggers and plasma pistols. Honor is a concept that is utterly foreign to them.
TALC (canon): (Mg3Si4O10(OH)2) Magnesium hydroxide sulfate, though it has many uses, has recently been discovered to interfere with Active Camoflage technology. Unfortunately, it causes permanent blindness if it gets in the eyes.