Various Niche Questions About HALO Lore

Community Halo Universe
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Hello there! I’m in the middle of trying to write a story set during H2 so I’m going to start this topic as a way to get any lore related questions answered if possible. I will occasionally come back to this topic(barring it doesn’t get locked or buried) to ask other questions as they come up in the writing process. My first question is at the time of HALO 2/ODST had the Covenant learned and/or adopted minutes, hours, days, etc. as a way to either better communicate or understand humanity? The reason I ask this and is because I’m trying to be as lore accurate as possible and it would make it easier for dialogue between characters if, say, an Elite at least understood how long an hour would be.

I know ODST used H3’s assets and models so that’s the real-world reason but has there ever been a lore explanation why ODST takes place during H2 but Brutes are already wearing power armor?

For anyone else who may have questions feel free to use this topic as a springboard to get your deep lore questions hopefully answered as well. :slight_smile:

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> My first question is at the time of HALO 2/ODST had the Covenant learned and/or adopted minutes, hours, days, etc. as a way to either better communicate or understand humanity? The reason I ask this and is because I’m trying to be as lore accurate as possible and it would make it easier for dialogue between characters if, say, an Elite at least understood how long an hour would be.

They probably know of them, as knowing your enemy’s timing is crucial to understanding any intel you’ve gathered. I doubt they’d have adopted it though, though i don’t think we’ve ever been given their full time system (beyond their ‘ages’).

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> I know ODST used H3’s assets and models so that’s the real-world reason but has there ever been a lore explanation why ODST takes place during H2 but Brutes are already wearing power armor?

My understanding is they are a “reinforcement” fleet sent by Truth. The brute take over had already been planned by Truth, and getting equipment out to all your forces takes time. Chief killing Regret actually had very little to do with the Great Schism, just him doing so made a nice public excuse to do what he did.

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> > I know ODST used H3’s assets and models so that’s the real-world reason but has there ever been a lore explanation why ODST takes place during H2 but Brutes are already wearing power armor?
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> My understanding is they are a “reinforcement” fleet sent by Truth. The brute take over had already been planned by Truth, and getting equipment out to all your forces takes time. Chief killing Regret actually had very little to do with the Great Schism, just him doing so made a nice public excuse to do what he did.

By your “understanding” do you mean that’s, like, your head-canon reason for it or have you read/seen it somewhere and just can’t remember where? I’m not doubting you I’m just curious. Even if that is your head-canon reasoning for it it’s as good a reason as any. Either way, I appreciate the replies. :slight_smile:

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> > > I know ODST used H3’s assets and models so that’s the real-world reason but has there ever been a lore explanation why ODST takes place during H2 but Brutes are already wearing power armor?
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> > My understanding is they are a “reinforcement” fleet sent by Truth. The brute take over had already been planned by Truth, and getting equipment out to all your forces takes time. Chief killing Regret actually had very little to do with the Great Schism, just him doing so made a nice public excuse to do what he did.
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> By your “understanding” do you mean that’s, like, your head-canon reason for it or have you read/seen it somewhere and just can’t remember where? I’m not doubting you I’m just curious. Even if that is your head-canon reasoning for it it’s as good a reason as any. Either way, I appreciate the replies. :slight_smile:

As in Its been a while since I looked into the lore but its the gist of it from what I remember.

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> > > > I know ODST used H3’s assets and models so that’s the real-world reason but has there ever been a lore explanation why ODST takes place during H2 but Brutes are already wearing power armor?
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> > > My understanding is they are a “reinforcement” fleet sent by Truth. The brute take over had already been planned by Truth, and getting equipment out to all your forces takes time. Chief killing Regret actually had very little to do with the Great Schism, just him doing so made a nice public excuse to do what he did.
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> > By your “understanding” do you mean that’s, like, your head-canon reason for it or have you read/seen it somewhere and just can’t remember where? I’m not doubting you I’m just curious. Even if that is your head-canon reasoning for it it’s as good a reason as any. Either way, I appreciate the replies. :slight_smile:
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> As in Its been a while since I looked into the lore but its the gist of it from what I remember.

That’s the original explanation Bungie provided (Along the Path section): http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=16989

> What’s written in these few entries is important in the context of understanding the overall story presented in the Halo trilogy. But what exists between the lines is where you should focus most of your attention. This is where the majority of the events that unfold during Halo 3: ODST take place. And it is in also in these moments that the Prophet of Truth did much of his puppeteer’s manipulations. The thirteen day span between the dates of October 20th and November 2nd provided the High Prophet with all the time he needed to redeploy Brute-led Covenant forces, their mission objectives relayed sub rosa, into the heart of New Mombasa.
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> But why Brutes?
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> In the wake of Regret’s shameful retreat from New Mombasa, the Prophet of Truth continued his maneuvering - one eye always on his ultimate goal: his rightful and holy ascension. For Truth, his own personal passage was paramount. His Godhood would not be denied. Everything else was secondary.
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> And though Truth’s duplicitous scheming doesn’t come to full fruition until the Elite Honor Guard’s failure to protect the Prophet of Regret affords him with the final leverage needed to appoint the Brutes to the lofty position, his plans were never made in haste. They were well laid. When the time came to return his attention to Earth, his expendable regiments needed to be led by Jiralhanae, not Sangheili.

343i has added more information too, according to Halo Mythos: https://books.google.com/books?id=mP4GEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=The+High+Prophet+of+Truth+had+triggered+his+planned+revolt+a&source=bl&ots=qtMDGOUXrs&sig=ACfU3U20GPKjfDB_xxR0fc7VxFzXFcARsw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7rO_J3vTtAhVSMqwKHQZwDp0Q6AEwBXoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=The%20High%20Prophet%20of%20Truth%20had%20triggered%20his%20planned%20revolt%20a&f=false

> The High Prophet of Truth had triggered his planned revolt against the Sangheili. Jiralhanae within Regret’s fleet were ordered to wrest control from the Sangheili; and even before Regret’s assault carrier took flight from New Mombasa, Jiralhanae were rioting in Covenant vessels and executing Sangheili in the streets of the city.

So essentially it’s, “Truth’s reinforcements arrived” and later on a “Regret’s fleet had Brutes too”

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When did humans first come into contact with Engineers? I saw on Halopedia that they’re known as any/all of the following: Engineers, Savants, Boo-bags, Floating squids, Gasbags, & Loogies. Also which, if any, of those nick names for them were established in the lore by the time Metropolis in H2 takes place?

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Very beginning of the war. I would say most of those names were not established by Halo 2, except for “Engineers”.

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To answer the question regarding the Brutes’ preparedness, you have to look in a few places to find specifics.

From Broken Circle…

"Truth has apparently sent special orders to Brutes stationed around Earth. Why would he be giving such orders, from here? That task is below him. And orders only for the Jiralhanae? He’s also sent another fleet to Earth—again, not a job for his high station. Why? And according to data I’ve acquired from comptroller files, he has already placed a large order with the Sacred Promissory—the weapons armory here on High Charity—but he has kept this quiet even now. The order, as I understand it, is the mass production of traditional Brute weaponry. It appears to me at least that he is arming the Brutes to a perilous degree."From Ten Twenty documentary…

Truth swiftly commissioned a massive fleet and privately summoned over five hundred warships to a command-and-control station called Unyielding Hierophant. When UNSC forces uncovered this plot during the events of Halo: First Strike, they initiated a covert assault of the station. Led by the Master Chief, a strike team of SPARTAN-II super-soldiers infiltrated Unyielding Hierophant and destroyed it, along with the vast majority of ships in its charge.

The station’s ultimate goal and its eventual destruction were suppressed by the Prophet of Truth—Unyielding Hierophant’s original purpose has since remained a closely guarded secret.

Well before even that day, Truth had begun to doubt the reliability and loyalty of the Elites, who were, at that time, the heart and head of the Covenant military. Though Regret’s ineffective invasion of the human home world was problematic, Truth would use it to his advantage. Not only was the support and excavation fleet he had already sent to Earth commanded exclusively by Brutes, but he would also leverage the abandoned Brutes who had served in Regret’s initial fleet.

Aboard those vessels, the Brutes were ready and willing to unflinchingly obey the Prophet’s commands. Once Truth gave the word, these soldiers forcefully overthrew the Elites and assumed complete control of the battle above Earth. Upon further orders from Truth, they aggressively deployed significant infantry directly into New Mombasa and picked up where Regret had left off while holding the human forces at bay until Truth’s reinforcements arrived.

It sounds like Truth had the displacement of the Elites already set for commencement prior to Earth being invaded. Who knows how far back the conspiracy goes. Truth had already gotten a taste of the paradox with Elites’ psychology when it comes to honour and incredulity versus loyalty to the Covenant when Zhar tried to assassinate him and Regret back almost 20 years ago.

A secretive contingent of Brutes, under the direct command of Truth, were likely already being outfitted with mass produced power armour some time either during or immediately after the battle on Alpha Halo. We see Brutes with power armour on back during the time of Harvest so we know they were in circulation and being used. If I had to guess, Sesa 'Refumee’s little rebellion on the gas mine spurred Truth into going ahead with his plan since it was his worst fears becoming a reality. Combine that with the destruction of Halo – which they laid at the feet of Thel, an Elite – and you have a recipe for one paranoid Prophet who’s looking to make changes to the Covenant system.