Mr Toadster wrote:I still don't think "[delta site]" refers to Delta Halo, or that [kappa site] indicates that there's a Kappa Halo.
REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE
LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] has experienced catastrophic specimen containment failure. All apertures into facility will be locked until further notice. Atmosphere evacuation and [reduction of ambient temperature] protocols have already been enacted. Request maintenance and security detail [at earliest opportunity]. [8 minutes] elapsed since initial containment failure.
Perhaps Delta Halo could reduce its ambient temperature or evacuate its air, but it certainly doesn't have "apertures" that can be locked. The "sites" mentioned are not Halos, but small facilities on or under the surface of Delta Halo. Somewhat confusingly, the Forerunners have assigned each site a Greek letter, while someone (presumably the Humans - ONI?) has named the Halos themselves using the same system.
(I personally
am going to be disappointed if this turns out to be nothing more than a promotion for a multiplayer map. This is a lot of fun).
I've been observing for a while now, and I think I've formed my conclusions regarding the two messages.
Firstly, I'm inclined to agree with Mr Toadster in that "facilities" is not synonymous with "Installations" in this instance.
It seems to make some sense to me.
Regarding a timetable, primarily based on previous posts, I've pretty much decided what -I- think about that. What follows is a summary of what I believe from the submitted theories.
Approximately 300 years prior to the events witnessed in Halo:CE->3, a "catastrophic containment failure" occurred at the Delta facility on Installation 05.
In response, that facility's basic autonomous containment procedures are enacted. Temperatures are lowered and atmosphere in the area is evacuated after all "apertures(i.e. doors, hatches, misc corporeal means of access)" are sealed. Perhaps it's just me, but couldn't such a procedure result
Here's where there's some more speculation. For a time, these measures were apparently effective enough. I would assume that the Delta facility was held at the same temperature and atmosphere for at least most of the next 300 years while requests for maintenance and security detail went unanswered. However, in that interim, a number of other failures apparently occurred. Delta facility's localized maintenance/security hubs fail to respond to commands. A fair amount of time later(250-300 years?), the initial countermeasures of atmospheric evacuation and temperature reduction are also fail, "as atmospheric seals[to the rest of Installation 05?] were showing signs of stress". The atmosphere begins to equalize with the rest of the Installation's facilities and the formerly contained becomes even less so.
At this point, the situation is referred higher up to [Quadrant oversight.](quadrant=a broad area/groups of facilities?), which also fails to respond.
Now apparently, the protocol dictates the situation be referred to 2401 Penitent Tangent who has been inconveniently absent throughout.
So a report is sent to Installation 00 detailing the extent of the security/containment failure.
At roughly the same time, LF.Xx.3273 let's call it, triggers another breach in security by utilizing Installation 05's emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits from within Delta facility to send two lifeforms to two different locations in-system, resulting in the transportation conduits being automatically placed into recursive mode to lock out any further unauthorized usage. Take a note here that LF.Xx.3273's access of that system
was unauthorized. Meaning it likely wasn't accessed securely through 2401 Penitent Tangent. If it were, a security breach would've likely been avoided. That said, I'm not sure that 2401 Penitent Tangent was necessarily malfunctioning as much as simply being held hostage so as to prevent additional security measures from being taken. In order to do that, LF.Xx.3273 would've also had to lock 2401 out of the transportation system in some way. Perhaps that was one of the "gifts" given by Mendicant Bias in his betrayal about 100,000 years ago? It apparently
is do-able, it managed to trap up Cortana effectively enough.
Now just what exactly caused the
initial breach is mostly unknown I believe. Whatever it was, it was apparently just the opportunity LF.Xx.3273 had been waiting through "
...rock and metal and time" for. In a grave designed just for it, after being defeated in a war it was left there to die. Almost. That is, until said opportunity arose.
Once it had breached security in Delta containment facility, all it needed then was a means of escaping the grave. A food source. It would apparently have to wait another 300 years for that. And when it arrived, it was quite welcome.
"This is not your Grave....but you are welcome in it..."
And, right or wrong, there we have the "present" situation. Detailed all the way from an initial security breach of security occurring about 300 years ago.
About the messages themselves then. The ones in the
first update seem to be a vague outline of the details at the start of these events and of those near or at the end, with little detail in the mean time. The
second update more or less seems to fill in a few of those blanks. As if
LOG: QUERIED ADJACENT FACILITIES ->
LOG: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO FACILITIES could be effectively inserted in between the first
REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE and
REPORT: SECURITY BREACH in order to form a more complete timeline.
NOW then....is that a fair assessment?
How wrong am I? Without studying exact timing anyways.
I don't know. Pick it apart and trample on it if you wish, that's all I have for now.