Halo Timeline

The Halo Wars Timeline Events is a subsection included in the main menu of the Halo Wars game that tells us the timeline of the Halo Universe as it pertains to Halo Wars. The events are acquired by retrieving Black Boxes within the campaign elements of the game, as well as winning skirmish matches using different leaders, both UNSC and Covenant.

Related Achievements

 * Halo Academic is an achievement that is unlocked when you unlock 20 timeline events.
 * Halo Historian is an achievement that is unlocked when you unlock all timeline events.

Unlocking

 * You must get the black boxes in campaign and win skirmish games with different leaders and on different maps to unlock all the timeline events.

16 January, 2498
Arcadia Colony opens the DSRA, the Deep Space Research Array, designed to research and study extremely high gravity events, such as black holes, and other areas that explanatory vessels cannot visit directly. The DSRA is eventually destroyed by the Covenant during the initial attack on Arcadia in 2531.

2506
Project ORION, the original SPARTAN project - the first attempt by the Colonial Military Administration to create and train teams of super-soldiers for covert military operations in the outer colonies - is deactivated. Though the Spartans are effective, their abilities fall short of original expectations, and they are far too expensive to develop and field. The soldiers in the program are reassigned to various special operations units.

17 August, 2517
Dr.Catherine Halsey and her aide, Lt. Jacob Keyes, covertly inspect one of the first test subjects for the mysterious 'Spartan-II' project the prospective candidate - a six-year-old child-named 'John' is the ideal for the project. Halsey arranges for the subject to be covertly conscripted.

23 September, 2517
Halsey's SPARTAN-II project begins, with primary research conducted on the planet Reach in the Epsilon Eridani system. Seventy-five children of both sexes are subjected to an intense program of physical and mental retraining and technological augmentation including reinforced skeletal structure and improved musculature.

20 July, 2520
Captain Alexander, the last civilian captain of Spirit of Fire, retires from active duty at the conclusion of the Verent mission. The ship is requisitioned by the UNSC and scheduled for refit.

1 September, 2520
Spirit of Fire completes an extensive refit at the Reach orbital shipyards before entering active military duty as a ground support vessel, initially detailed with providing ground support for Operation: TREBUCHET.

2524, Edict of the Office of the High Prophet of Restraint
It is know the Kig-Yar ship Pitiless has brought forth an Unclean Being's corpse. Hear now all Kig-Yar vessels are to be searched. Let faithful Sangheili lead teams of Unggoy to all Kig-Yar ships and seek further evidence of the Unclean. It is done.

2524, Edict of the Office of the High Prophet of Tolerance
Hear now that five hundred teams are to be formed to study the language of the Unclean. Each team to consist of the most clever and most educated Unggoy and Sangheili. These teams to speak only the Unclean language among themselves. The Unclean language to be taught to all military strike teams, that the foes shall be vulnerable.

2525, Excerpt from The Punished Deeds, Vol. III
The youngest of the new Prophets, Regret ascended by manipulating and blackmailing those around him. Regret was one of the Prophets who visited the Oracle, an ancient AI, where it was learned that he humans were somehow connected to the Forerunner race and that the very foundation of the Covenant belief was flawed. Their decision to eradicate humanity to hide these facts is debated to this day.

2525, Edict of the Office of the High Prophet of Truth
All within the Covenant hear now and obey. Weapons and ships of war to descent upon the inhabited world of Epsilon Indi. Strike with all force. No intelligent survivors may remain, upon severest penalty.

3 February, 2525
Contact with the agriculture colony Harvest is lost. Initial attempts to re-establish contact fail. The worst is feared. Meanwhile, in orbiting ONI facilities near Reach, surgical procedure to augment the SPARTAN-II candidates are about to begin. Many candidates will 'wash out' - dead or crippled by the process.

2525, Excerpt from The Punished Deeds, Vol. III
This new Arbiter did not fear death, but even he was afraid of what was inside the relics of the Ancients. Before he entered a relic, he would send in a squad of Unggoy to check for any signs of danger. If all was clear, they would live, but at the slightest sign of trouble the Arbiter would detonate plasma bombs attached to the methane tanks.

20 April, 2525
Contact with the scout ship Argo, sent to investigate the problem on Harvest, is lost. A larger, armed battlegroup is prepared in response.

2525, Excerpt from The Punished Deeds, Vol. III
The new Arbiter was almost immediately tested. An installation of the Ancients near the remnants of a massive space installation that was thought to contain a 'key,' an object that was believed could be used to activate technology. The installation was heavily defended by a growing diction of Elites who did not agree with the ways of the new Prophets. The Arbiter killed them in a battle that raged for days. A key was never found but the dissident movement was silenced.

7 October, 2525
Battle Group D arrives at Harvest and engages the Covenant, but is forced to jump away back to Reach after two of its three ships are destroyed by a single covenant vessel. An audio-only message was transmitted by the Covenant during this engagement 'Your destruction is the will of the gods... and we are their instrument' It is believed that because this message was transmitted in English, the Covenant have been studying humanity for some time

1 November, 2525
The UNSC military goes on full alert and begins making preparations to move in and retake Harvest. All Colonial Military Administration combat forces are immediately placed under NavCom / Unicom 'for the duration of the crisis' The SPARTAN-II project is accelerated to its final phase: MJOLNIR, a new form of powered armor specifically designed for Spartan use.

27 November, 2525
All SPARTAN-IIs are transported to the Damascus Materials Testing Facility of Chi Ceti-4 to be equipped with MJOLNIR armor. They only have a matter of hours to test suit operation before an alien vessel enters the system and attacks their orbiting support ship. in the ensuing battle, three Spartans board the enemy ship and encounter their first Covenant soldiers, capturing an energy shield gauntlet. One Spartan is lost in the engagement.

2525, Edict of the Office of the High Prophet of Regret
Hear now the infamy in Chi Ceti system. Due to lack of faith on the part of the crew of the vessel Unrelenting, a band of Unclean were able to board and slay. A Science lance is ordered formed to study the captured weapons and armor that mitigation action can be take in future.

2526, Battle of Harvest
At the battle of Harvest, Vice Admiral Preston Cole's war fleet - one of the largest ever mobilized - engages the alien warship responsible for the decimation of the colony, scoring a victory. Only Cole's last-minute tactical inspiration turns the tide of battle. Upon his return to Earth, Cole is promoted to the rank of Admiral.

2526, Edict of the Office of the High Prophet of Regret
Let the Victory of Epsilon Indi be celebrated by fasting and prayer. Unggoy and Kig-Yar for rations to be eliminated for the next three work periods. Sangheili and Jiralhanae to spend two rest periods in public prayer. All attend the public monitors at the sounding of five bells to observe the execution of those who failed their duty at the Victory

30 January, 2528
Captain Cutter turns down command position on board the destroyer class ship the Prophecy. His decision to stay close to his family prompted an ONI psychological examination that determined that while for to combat, his family ties worked against any longer military career

2528, Incident Report 16-196901
Security team called to Jiralhanae Chieftain's quarters at third bell, second shift. Team arrived at location to find quarters door torn from it's frame and five chucks of unidentified biological matter in hallway (see attached diagram) Upon inspection, biological matter confirmed as parts of two Unggoy from Deck Four Kitchens. Chieftain was calm and responsive; stated that delivery of his midday meal was not the specifications (Thorn beast overdone, dipping sauce insufficient) Maintenance crew notified; official reprimand of D4 Kitchen supervisor filed.

17 August, 2530
Sergeant Forge incarcerated for assaulting a senior officer. His career would have been over if Admiral Cole had not intervened and seen that the investigation was fair and above board. The senior officer eventually faced court martial and Sergeant Forge was assigned to Spirit of Fire in an effort to help the prior evens quiet.

37 January, 2531 Professor Anders' Log
Upon boarding The Last Gleaming, I was shown my quarters, On the door it read 'Doctor Anders' - the name my mother wanted me to use in my professional career. I cannot abide being reminded of her wishes. This whole cloak-and-dagger trip had her fingerprints all over it.

2531, From the Office of the High Prophet of Regret
Return as fast as possible speed to the world they know as Harvest. We must learn the secrets inside the holy relic before the Great Journey can continue. The humans must not be allowed to enter the artifact; we will do whatever we must to deny them access. All must be resolute in this task, or face punishment

4 February, 2531
The UNSC support ship Spirit of Fire enters orbit around Harvest. While Admiral Cole's fleet is engaged elsewhere, Spirit is sent to Harvest to investigateongoing Covenant activity in the system and look for survivors from the missingUNSC destroyer The Prophecy (previously dispatched to Harvest to investigate the same activity) Commanded by Captain Cutter, Spirit has been reassigned by FLEETCOM. ONI has placed Professor Anders onboard to lead the investigation

6 February, 2531
Professor Anders writes her father what appears to be a detailed analysis of Homer's Odyssey. In fact it is a coded messagedetailing her mission to Harvest and the result of the find there. ONI censors miss the cipher completelyand the message passes unhaltered to her father.

7 February, 2531
Spirit of Fire holds service for the crew of the Prophecy. The crew roster is read despite objections from ONI personnel. The Prophecy ws lost with all hands on a first exppedition to Harvest to investigate the Covenant interest in the artifact found near the polar region