As the primary satellite of the Unggoy homeworld, Buwan provides the perfect environment for this massive Covenant hydro-facility used to power and refuel a variety of capital ships. Though still operational via automated subsystems, the station was abandoned shortly after the breaking of the Covenant.

The rocky warrens of this part of Halo provide the ideal environment for an array of impressive telemetry clusters. These spires’ synchronization conduits ensure that the ring’s translocation grid is always fully operational, part of a remarkably powerful system which allows near-instant transportation across the full ten thousand kilometers which span the installation.

Once serving as a watchpoint for the immense relay complex below, the monitoring outposts nestled atop this ridge became a staging ground for human forces during their time on Installation 04. Toward the end of the conflict, a Covenant assault brought the resistance of the marines here to a tragic end.

Section 21 once looked out onto the New Mombasa Orbital Elevator with pride and optimism. Now, with much of the city flooded by the Covenant’s brutal assault, the skyline is only a shattered ghost of what it once was as the battle for humanity’s survival continues on the streets and corridors below.

The vast generator complexes which power this enormous slipspace portal allow it to connect with an unknown number of locations across the galaxy. However, passage through this system requires a Forerunner keyship, and few command such a vessel this long after the disappearance of the portal’s creators.

These spinning confinement platforms are a testament to the technological prowess of the Forerunners. In the event of a security breach, the facility’s suborbital location and frigid temperature were thought to be able to keep any threat at bay, but it appears those plans were…optimistic.

When the UNSC Pillar of Autumn arrived at Alpha Halo—also known as Installation 04—the Covenant was already there to welcome them. The conflict which followed raged across the surface of the ringworld, eventually pitting the renowned and battle-hardened ODSTs against a merciless Covenant assault, which would stop at nothing to control Halo.