Halo 2 Anniversary terminal speculation.

Games Other Halo
1

At the time that this is being written, we don’t know if there will be a Halo 2 remake. If there is one coming, there will obviously be additions such as terminals. Here are some guesses as to what they might be, while keeping in mind how they affect the story itself. Feel free to add your speculation as well. :slight_smile:

Mission 1: Cairo Station

There are two mysteries that came from the Original Halo Trilogy that were never explained in depth. 1) The Covenant’s discovery of Earth, and 2) How the Flood discovered the location of the (lesser) Ark in 2552. In terms of Earth’s discovery, it may have been due to Luminaries on board covenant starships, and in First Strike, an entire fleet was supposed to head there. Obviously, only fifteen ships arrived, not expecting the planet to be the Humans Homeworld. Hence the first Terminal, Regrets ambition and how it affects Truths plans for “The Great Journey”. (Truth and Regret are the only ones in the covenant leadership who know the truth about humanity, keep this in mind)

Mission 2: Outskirts

Guessing this one was a no brainer.
In Halo 3: ODST’s Sadie’s Story, Dr. Endesha points out that ONI believed the Covenant were looking for something under the city. It was also said that during a seismic survey, an archaeological anomaly was discovered underneath New Mombasa. This is what I believe what the second terminal in the game will be about. It won’t be an ONI committee listening to Endeaha speak, but rather the Librarian giving her thoughts on the construction of the Ark portal itself. (With a time lapse that shows the portal being buried by the sands of time, and the growth of New Mombasa right over it)

Mission 3: Metropolis

This terminal should tie in with the first, here’s how.
In “outskirts”, it’s mentioned that the covenant started pulling back to the city center. As we all know, Regret was preparing to retreat the city via slipstream space, and from the ending of ODST, more ships arrived to finish what was started. The third terminal explains how Truth’s plans to shake up the covenant leadership starts, with him sending a fleet of brute controlled ships to exterminate the sangheli on earth.

Mission 4: The Arbiter

As we all know, the Elite known as Thel Vadamee was turned into the Arbiter. So, the forth terminal should explain how truth plans to use the Arbiter as a puppet, in order to set bigger things in motion.

Mission 5: Oracle

The 11th terminal in Halo Anniversary explained how Guilty Spark and The Heretic joined forces. The fifth terminal of this game should continue on where that terminal left off, specifically why Flood specimens were on the Threshold Gas Mining Facility.

Mission 6: Delta Halo

The terminal for this level should be about Installation 05 itself, after all, the story just revealed its existence in this level. The terminal should explain what happened to the monitor Penitent Tangent, and why a gravemind exists on the ring prior to the Flood’s release in the game.

Mission 7: Regret

As we all know, John killed the High Prophet of Regret in this level, even after " the largest covenant fleet…anyone’s ever seen" arrived at the ring. Later in the game, it’s revealed Regret could’ve been saved had Truth not withdrawn phantoms that were headed there. Terminal 7 reveals how John’s actions lead one step closer to the betrayal of the Elites, and how it seals the Arbiter’s fate.

Mission 8: Sacred Icon

Plain and simple…
The 8th terminal shows Tartarus and Truth having a conversation. Tartarus is ordered to kill the Arbiter as soon as the Icon is secured, and to start the (attempted) extermination of the elites.

Mission 9: Quarantine Zone

(A break from the diabolical Truth)
Commander Miranda Keyes, a product of what happened between Dr. Halsey and (at the time) Lt. Keyes during the time that they surveyed Spartan 2 prospects. At this point in the game, UNSC Amber Clad is infested with flood and most of her crew are dead or infected. The ninth terminal focuses on Miranda and her thoughts about how she could ultimately face the same fate her father did, death or infection by the Flood.

Mission 10: Gravemind

The second mystery begins to unfold.
The cutscene that starts this level off reveals something interesting about Regret. He is now apart of the Gravemind, the Flood’s central intelligence. The terminal in this level explains how regret found the location of The Ark, and shows the Gravemind’s thoughts about what happens if the Chief and Arbiter succeed in stopping the ring from firing.

Mission 11: Uprising

This level is the culmination of Truth’s plans. Terminal #11 goes into the thoughts of R’tas Vadamee (who will become the “shipmaster” in Halo 3) and shows vivid images of Elites being Massacered in what appears to be a losing effort.
“They have shed the blood of our brothers…and for that they must die!”

Mission 12: High Charity

The terminal shows the Gravemind teleporting to High Charity, as the Flood take advantage of the Covenant Civil War. This scene also sets up the plot for Flood’s arrival at the ark in Halo 3’s storyline.

Mission 13: The Great Journey

This terminal focuses on the past, specifically the relationship the Sangheli and San’ Shyum had prior to the events of Halo 2… and how it was all a lie. The terminal also shows the remaining hostility between Elites and humans, but that both sides are willing to fight for a common goal, the defeat of a common enemy.

Bonus Terminal: The Battle of Earth

While the Terminal shows scenes of Epic space battles occurring (UNSC ships engaging Covenant ships, Orbital Defense Platforms being destroyed, etc.), all the command branches in the UNSC meet in order to be briefed by Keyes, Johnson, and the Arbiter about the events that occurred on Installation 05 and how the excavation site in New Mombasa are related. (Sets the stage for Halo 3)

All of these were educated guesses, if you feel something doesn’t fit or something is missing, feel free to voice your opinions.

Thank you for your time!

2

that was pretty good and probably somewhat accurate but we shall see in due time

3

Thanks, took me a while to put this together.

4

If there is a Halo 2 Anniversary and if it has terminals, I’m sure it will be nothing like this.

5

Firstly great post. Seems a little Prophet of Truth centric… but I suppose its okay considering he is a main villain in Halo 3, and the terminals did the same for 343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Although the terminals should be narrated by a relative character who fits into that respective faction… its should tell the story but through a different perspective the narraters. So if the terminal is of Forerunner design a Forerunner, Sentinel, Monitor, Ancilla should narrate; if the terminal is of UNSC design then it could be a ONI Operative or Smart AI; if the terminal is Covenant design should be Covenant Construct or a Prophet… each would show development of the story through a different perspective. Plus the terminals should somewhat clue to Halo 4 or even Halo 5, like 343 Guilty Spark mentions the Librarian and the Ur-Didact post-Halo 4 release.

Main Events/Characters we should get background on:

  • #1 Flood Gravemind and 2401 Penitent Tangent (Highest Priority), could use 2401 Penitent Tangent as the narrator for the Installation 05 Outbreak origins the how, why, when, what and where… How does this relate to the Reclaimer Saga; the Flood Gravemind has an endless memory and intellect as long as one Flood spore remains… the Flood are looming to return due to a prophesied test by the Primordial… and Humanities inheritance the Mantle. Also it could show a better development of the AI curse, rampancy, which perhaps could have a possible solution.

  • #2 Prophet of Truth, Prophet of Regret, Prophet of Mercy and Tartarus (Higher Priority), could use Prophet of Truth to narrate the story, showing the why, when, where, what and how of the Great Schism. How does this relate to the Reclaimer Saga; it shows the origin of the Covenant and fills in those unanswered plot holes… yet nothing new would be added to the Reclaimer Saga, these terminals would guarantee and better understanding of the Covenant… although it could show that some species of the Covenant, are devote to the Forerunner, to the point of death… and sacrifice; perhaps opening up another plot for the Storm Covenant.

  • #3 032 05 Mendicant Bias and the Iso-Didact (High Priority), could use the Iso-Didact, or Mendicant Bias, to narrate this terminal. This would be the origin of Mendicant Bias, his creation, his fall of grace and his imprisonment… How does this relate to the Reclaimer Saga; John-117 was assisted by Mendicant on the Forerunner Dreadnought, High Charity and the Lesser Ark in 2552. Mendicant transported John and half of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn mid-slip-space to Requiem, to which the Ur-Didact was freed. In 2558… or further (unknown… just speculation) John could return to the Ark to free Mendicant and find a solution to rampancy and/or the Flood. It could also open the story, like Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary did with the Librarian and Ur-Didact, to the Iso-Didact’s return from exile.

  • #4 Librarian and Chant-To-Green (Moderate Priority), could use the Librarian cataloging her last entries in the Domain… prior to the firing of the Halo arrays. It could show the how, why, when, what and where of the Ark Portal and the Librarians demise… How this relates to future halo titles; in 2557, Monitor Chakas/343 Guilty Spark has hijacked the UNSC Rubicon to search for the Lifeshaper to which he believes is still the Librarian… it could also open the story for the return of Chant-to-Green, the Lifeshaper, from her exile.

  • #5 Thel’Vadamee, Rtas’Vadumee and Sesa’Refumee (Low Priority), could use the AI construct, seen in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, to narrate terminal. This could discuss the relationship the Arbiter has with his comrades… even when they are seen as enemies… the how, why, what, when and where of Sangheili honor and how the Arbiter portrays it. How does this relate to the Reclaimer Saga; the return of the Arbiter and the Separatist Elites to Halo 5… as well as perhaps Arbiters growing relationship with Lydus and the Brutes, who he may soon respect and learn to trust…

  • #6 John-117, Kelly-087, Fred-104, Linda-054 and Catherine Halsey (Lower Priority), could use Halsey to narrate terminal (this could actually be the prologue for Halo 5… returning to the Halsey interrogation which has progressed from Halo 4) This could be how John and the others escaped Installation 04 and returned to Reach to rescue the small group that remained… this terminal could also show the origin of John and Blue Team, the how, when, where, what and why… other their relationship. How would this relate to the Reclaimer Saga; if Blue Team are in-fact in the Reclaimer Saga, perhaps as Johns companions… than we should know a lot more about them… considering half the fans might not even care for them due to not reading the novels… this would develop Chiefs humanity in a way that was planned… like he previously knew them as stoic, robotic, non-emotional Spartans, yet after they meet again they are appearing more human, while he would be left as the only robotic spartan… thus remember Cortana symbolic words. And the Catherine Halsey relationship with the Spartan-II’s could be the plot twist, that makes her rejoin the UNSC, or how Blue Team could ultimately betray the UNSC whilst defending their surrogate mother.

  • #7 Miranda Keyes, Terrance Hood, 343 Guilty Spark and Avery Johnson Junior (Lowest Priority), could use 343 Guilty Spark to narrate their relationship and how they addressed the situation that the Sangheili want an alliance with Humanity… the how, why, when, where and who of the Sangheili-Human Alliance… How does this relate to the Reclaimer Saga; it shows Hoods trust for the Elites and how he respects them… mostly the Arbiter… for their honor and leadership.

6

I think if there will be a H2A it’s terminals will be more relevant to future games than what you suggest. For instance, I imagine there will be more Forerunner terminals than you suggest. I also imagine there would be a certain overall arc to the delta .Halo terminals (maybe about how the Flood breakout happened and how it expanded and took over the ring from the POV of Penitent Tangent. Seeing a Flood Infection step by step would be interesting.