


A Lich gunboat eventually fires on the platform, damaging it, causing Cadence to order Five, Julia, and Liana to board the vehicle, while he and Jacques fight off more Rangers. As they ascend, a large contingent of Covenant Rangers and Banshees assault the platform, and Caliber Five utilizes the Mantis to fight them. A Pelican deploys a Mantis onto the elevator as mobile firepower. More Covenant forces arrive, flanking them, and Titanium stays behind while Caliber boards a large Forerunner cargo elevator to manually reach the top. The two Spartan teams reach the gravity lift leading up to the Covenant command base, but before they can kill the Covenant defenses the lift is deactivated. After destroying the Scarab, they resume their push through the jungle. The two Spartan teams then continue their travel until they reach a canyon where Marine forces are trying to stop the Scarab's attack. Fireteam Caliber then mounts up in a Scorpion tank and roll through the jungle, killing Covenant enemies until they reunite with Fireteam Titanium. A T-47B Scarab makes its debut, shooting down both Caliber's and Titanium's Pelicans before pursuing the third one. The Horus draws off the Liches, while three of the Pelicans split off from the rest to land. Fireteam Caliber boards one of several Pelicans that are sent down to the surface, while a fellow Spartan squad named Fireteam Titanium is in another. As it nears, multiple Covenant Liches appear.

The UNSC Horus exits slipspace near Kalincton, before heading towards the planet.
