SUMMARY
The UNSC Pillar of Autumn, in an attempt to escape the aftermath of the Fall of Reach, makes a jump through slipspace, and ends up at a mysterious ring-shaped mega-structure orbiting a gas giant in the Soell system. They are immediately intercepted by Covenant forces that force the Pillar of Autumn to crash-land onto the surface of the ring. Spartan-II super-soldier John-117, along with his AI Cortana, discover that the ring is a super-weapon called Halo, and the Covenant want to use it against humanity.
Pillar of Autumn captain Jacob Keyes leads a team to recover weapons on the ring, only to find that the weapons are really a biological threat to all life known as the Flood. John tries to stop Keyes from releasing the Flood, but he is unsuccessful. John meets the monitor of the installation, 343 Guilty Spark, who recruits the Master Chief to fire the Halo and stop the Flood, but is stopped at the last moment by Cortana, turning Guilty Spark into the enemy.
Cortana and John fight off Guilty Spark and the Halo's sentinels, and travel back to the wreckage of the Pillar of Autumn in an attempt to detonate the ship's reactor and destroy the ring. They successfully destroy the ship and the ring, escaping at the last second. Almost all forces on the ring are killed, except for John, Cortana, and a handful of others.
The Battle of Installation 04 was an engagement between the UNSC Pillar of Autumn and the Covenant Fleet of Particular Justice on and around the Forerunner megastructure known as Installation 04, or Alpha Halo, in the Soell system.
MISSION DEBRIEF
Join the Mission Debrief crew as they explore each mission in Halo: Combat Evolved, discussing the best and worst parts, tips and tricks, and exploring the lore of Halo. Mission Debrief for Halo: Combat Evolved originally aired summer 2018.
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
A sampling of the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary soundtrack as provided by Spotify.
VISITED WORLDS
Halo: Combat Evolved takes place on the Forerunner construct known as Alpha Halo or Installation 04.
FEATURED CHARACTERS
The story of Halo: Combat Evolved is the story of John-117, Cortana, and their struggle to survive.
FEATURED WARSHIPS
The UNSC Pillar of Autumn is the ship that gets humanity to its first Halo, but it is sacrificed to stop the Flood.
CREDITED CONTRIBUTORS